Danganronpa: Daburu zetsubō
by kingdomsavior90
Summary: Two Killing Games. Thrity-one Ultimate Students. One Traitor. One Mastermind. One truth. Despair and Hope are the only morals here.
1. Prologue (A)

**Prologue:** **Welcome to a Refurbished Despair Pt. A**

* * *

 _Wow... I'm actually here..._ I kept telling myself. I just couldn't believe my eyes. I stood out in front of the gates to the newly remodeled Hopes Peak Academy, a school for the ultimately gifted students. And here I was, among these protégés. Nice to meet you, I'm Akiko... S. I was one of the 30 new transfer students selected to attend this Academy that is now under supervision of a corporation known as "Future Foundation" being funded by the "Togami Corporation". Basically it was a lot of big businesses sharing with big businesses I imagine.

That aside, it's a pleasure to meet you. The reason I was called to Hopes Peak Academy you might be wondering? Did I probably win a lottery by chance, or maybe I entered as a "Reserve Course"? Well, neither of those. I'm just another "Ultimate". I don't feel like talking about my talent, it's kind of stupid to begin with. Sorry, guess I'm the shy sort.

I twirled by orange pigtails nervously as I stood before the walls of this school. I wore the basic uniform button up and skirt, with platform boots and a pale blue cardigan. My headphones were playing one of my favorite songs. I held my messenger bag close as my anxiety kept building. _Come on! Just walk inside!_ I shouted at myself. Why was I so nervous? So... Afraid...?

Was it because of the broadcast a few years ago. That was definitely a horrible thing to watch on live television but... I couldn't let that get to me. Without really thinking I just took a step. Then another. And another, another, another, another... I kept walking until I was inside the campus grounds. I would tell you how it looked if I got a good look at it. The moment I stepped inside every one of my senses felt like they were being forcefully warped and assaulted. Everything was spinning. Faster and faster, everything became a mess of melted images, tastes and scents until everything went to black...

...When I came to I was lying in a bed under the covers. I was expecting to be greeted with a pale white room but no. That's not what I got at all. The walls had a nice pink wallpaper, and what appeared to be sunlight streaming in from the outside. "What...?" I struggled out. I pushed the covers off of me and noticed I was still fully dressed. _Did I fall asleep?_ No, that didn't happen. I had a dizzy spell outside and I must have collapsed. Maybe someone saw me and carried me over to a room? That seemed more likely. After scanning the area I realized I was in a room with a personal bathroom and a desk with a chair. On top of that desk rested a key with my last name etched into it. So that means this room must have been my room, and someone must have brought me here...

Without any hesitation I shoved the key into my pocket and headed to the front door of the room. I stood in front of the door and prepared to step outside however an announcement blared. " **Would all students please make their way to the Gym. Please do not keep your headmaster waiting. All other doors will be locked so you don't get lost.** " There was something... wrong with that voice. It was unusually peppy and high. Wait, the gym? How am I supposed to know where to go? He did say the other doors are locked so I guess whatever door opens...

"I need to get out of here." I said to no one. I opened the door and took a step outside. I was not expecting some more students to be outside. Two boys I believe. One of the boys was dressed in a blue tracksuit of Hopes Peak. His hair was relatively short and an odd blue color, I imagine he dyed his hair, and olive green eyes. His build was an athletic one, each section of his body taken proper care and attention to be well exercised.

"Hey! Did you wake up too!?" He asked in an excited tone.

"um well..." I replied meekly.

"Of course she did." The other boy stated in a calm tone. His black hair was cut into a crew cut and his face had a decent covering of facial hair on his face and his frame was much slimmer than the other boy. "That makes her sixteen."

"Sixteen?" I repeated inquisitively.

"Oh, so the last one?" The sporty boy asked.

"Wait last?"

"There were only sixteen rooms in this hall. You're student number 16. Everyone else is in the gym." The slimmer boy explained.

"I see." Was all I could say.

"Oh, by the way I'm Ryota Takao. I was accepted into Hope's Peak Academy as the Ultimate Sports Master." The boy in the track suit introduced himself.

"Oh I'm Akiko..." I replied.

"Huh, no last name? No talent?" Ryota asked me. Well, I didn't want to share that with a stranger... it's... too embarrassing.

"I-I don't remember." I said.

"Don't remember?" The slimmer boy repeated. "I swear, girls can be so helpless in a crisis."

"Don't be mean..." I say meekly. "If I don't remember then I don't remember."

"Well, we'll forget it for now." Ryota spoke up. "Hey, introduce yourself wouldya!? A little kindness wouldn't hurt!" His comment seemed to be directed at the other boy in the hallway.

"Fine then." The boy replied. "Shin Yuzuki. Ultimate Artist. The gym is outside across from this building. Just keep going straight."

"We'll be right behind you after we do one more sweep of this place. Just to make sure no one's left behind, cuz there was supposed to be 30 right?" Ryota added.

"30 students... right. Maybe there's another dorm building?" I suggested.

"Let's hope so." Shin stated. "Well, go join the others now." I nodded and we headed in opposite directions. Just keep going straight? I did so and I eventually reached a set of double doors. I pushed pass the doors and was exposed to the warmth of the sunlight. I hadn't realized an A/C had been blowing in the building (which I presumed to be a dorm building) when I walked outside. I could feel the difference in temperatures, it was a very large gap. Outside, from what I could see, I was now on a cement pathway and their seems to be a series of connected walkways. Right now I need to head to the Gymnasium. Just dead ahead. I walked along the cement paved path and entered the Gymnasium. When I entered I saw about thirteen more students standing in an awkward silence. It was so silent I imagined a pin dropping and the sound it would make.

Most of them turned their attention to me as the door opened. The initial surprise of my entrance seemed to fade as they then looked away. I walked away from the door and tried my best to blend into the perimeter of the crowd. Someone nudged my elbow. I turned and saw a boy about my height. His hair was a pale red, almost looking orange. His eyes were a light hazel, he was wearing a hoodie similar to his hair color and a black shirt underneath. His glasses hung loosely on his face and his jeans seemed to be worn out greatly while his brown boots showed similar signs. "Do you know what's going on?" He asked me.

"Uh, no..." I replied meekly.

"What a shame..." He said. "Looks like nobody knows what's going on. I'm disappointed now."

"Well SORRY for not meeting your expectations!" A large student said. His stomach was distended in a way through his white tank top but his body definitely screamed strong man. Over the tank top he had an unbuttoned white shirt and a black leather jacket draped over his shoulders. I couldn't get a good look at his eyes since he wore aviators and his crew cut hair had been obviously bleached beyond black; it was ashen blond. The larger boy crossed his arms in dissatisfaction. "We've been tellin' ya we don't got an answer."

"You never know." The orange haired boy stated with a grin. His focus then turned to me. "I'm Atsushi Tamuki, the Ultimate Engineer. And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Akiko. I... kind of don't remember my talent... or last name..." I said. It was a lie I wasn't proud of but I had to keep up appearances. One of the girls in the crowd let out a gasp. Her brown hair tied into a ponytail with bangs covering her forehead. She made a beeline for me and I was taken aback. Her brown eyes locked onto my blue ones as she gave an intense stare, it was a little unnerving. She then let out a chuckle.

"Geez, you're so serious." She told me.

"What?"

"I'm Destiny Kiro. I'm the Ultimate Vocalist! Pleased to meet ya! Oh, by the way, I'm what they call a 'Hafu' which is why my name is mixed."

"Nice to know." Atsushi commented. "I'll be sure to remember that."

"Like I care if you remember." Destiny pouted. "Anyway, you still haven't given us a name." She pointed to the large boy that looked kind of like a punk.

He scoffed. "Like I give a shit whether you know my name!" He cried.

Suddenly a silver haired boy spoke up through his shouting. "Oh? But it's only common courtesy to introduce yourself." He chuckled. His eyes were a piercing red and he was dressed like a gothic Lolita... but for guys. He wore a tiny top hat accessory and painted his nails black and everything. "I'm Izanagi Katsu. I do hope we can share in camaraderie. Now it's your turn." His tone was polite but his implications were forceful.

"F-fine." He grunted nervously. "Juku Kunio. I'm the Ultimate..." He seemed to mumble the end of his sentence.

"You're mumbling." Izanagi said in a tone that practically screamed 'Speak Up'.

"THE ULTIMATE CHEF! ALRIGHT!?" He screamed with a blush on his face.

"So, you like, cook and stuff?" Destiny asked, her eyes seemed to light up and I could've sworn a bit of drool formed at the side of her mouth.

"Y-yeah..." Juku answered. "But don't mistake this for asking me for whatever you want!"

"Hardass..." She mumbled.

"Was it that hard?" Izanagi chuckled. Geez, I wouldn't want to be scolded by him.

"Well, since we're taking the time to introduce ourselves..." another girl, shorter than I was. She was very petite and almost doll like. She wore suspenders strapped to her skirt and a small tie. Her light brown hair, almost a pale green, was tied into twin ponytails. "I-I'm Miyako Usagi... The Ultimate Hacker."

"Hacker? Like computers and stuff?" Atsushi asked. Miyako nodded. "But, isn't hacking a crime?"

"Ah-!" She gasped out. Her eyes then seemed to tear up. "I'm sorry... I'm just r-really good at it is all..."

"No, it's fine. Personally I think it's cool!" Atsushi gave Miyako a big smile. That seemed to change Miyako's mood. I decided to not interject with whatever it was they were talking about. It only spelled out trouble if I gave my personal opinion now. I looked back to Izanagi, suddenly remembering he never shared his talent with us.

"Hey Izanagi." I called to him.

"Yes?"

"You never did mention your talent." I explained.

"Oh? I didn't?" Izanagi asked with light shock. "It must've been because of Juku's horrible attitude." He said in a very polite tone. Yowch, that really must not sit well with Juku.

He was pissed. "Who are you calling horrible?"

"You." Izanagi put simply. Juku let out a strangled gasp of shock as Izanagi practically dissed him. "I'm the Ultimate Gambler. Much like my predecessor, I've won many gambling matches. Plus my intuition and guesses are almost second to none. At least in this room." Izanagi sounded arrogant to me. I kinda hate that but at the same time I wish I had that level of confidence, it'd make my life easier.

I looked around at the crowd. There was still quite a few people. They were listening, however not all of them had the desire to speak up until a girl with really short dark hair spoke up. Her posture was very rigid and she had a serious look on her face, almost as though it had been glued in place. "Okay everyone." She said with a stern tone. "I'm Makoto Takeo. I'm the Ultimate Commander." She stood at attention, almost like a soldier. "Now I want everyone to say their names and talents if they remember!" She commanded.

Then, a boy with light orange hair scoffed as he adjusted his blazer. His uniform looked more like professional business attire rather than a school uniform. His amber eyes gave a strange intensity to his overall appearance. "I'll only say this once. My name is Akihiro Junichi and I'm the Ultimate Merchant." Was all he said before turning his back to everyone else.

"That's it!?" Destiny stammered. Akihiro didn't reply, he remained stalwart in his position. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

"And I'm ignoring you." Akihiro said.

"Wh-!?" Dese gasped out and then got upset very quickly. "You don't need to be rude ya know!"

"You don't need to be in my business, bitch!" Akihiro snapped.

"Hey!" Juku spoke up. "That's not cool! Calling a woman that!"

"Don't talk to me like I'm some child, fatty!" Akihiro seemed calm but annoyed as he said that.

Juku, on the other hand, had exploded with rage. "WHO ARE YOU CALLING 'FATTY' ASSHOLE!?"

"You." Akihiro said, much how Izanagi said earlier.

"WHY I OUGHTA-!" Juku shouted as he cracked his knuckles.

"-Enough." Makoto said with an intense fierceness. "Before you start your mindless bickering, need I remind you we have our headmaster on their way to greet us for opening ceremony. Not only that, fourteen of our student body is still missing! So a little consideration would be appreciated." Makoto only raised her voice slightly, but that slight increase in volume seemed to calm them both down. In a huff the two stomped away from one another almost like children. "Now then..." Makoto said while lowering her voice to how it was before. "Quite a few of you still need to introduce yourselves."

"Very well." A girl with dyed hair said. "I'll go next." She smiled brightly. Her hair was dyed a bright pink color at shoulder length. Her brown eyes and peppy attitude made her seem like a happy person. Her skin was a fairly tanned one and she wore a no sleeved button up and a rather skimpy skirt. Not short like some of us, but very short. The only plus is that she was wearing black leggings. "I'm Akemi Hanako, the Ultimate Actress." And then suddenly she changed her accent to a British one. "Very pleased to make your acquaintance."

"What?" I asked. "How did you do that!?"

"Plenty of practice." She said, this time in a serious tone.

Well, whatever makes her happy I guess. "Alright, you next since no one else is gonna step up." Makoto pointed to a short boy. He seemed frail and nervous. His hair was black and his brown eyes were similar to Destiny's. He wore a bucket hat very loosely on his head while his clothes seemed to loosely fit him. His dress shirt was unbuttoned to reveal the black tee underneath and his dark pants were held up by a belt. He seemed to freak out as he was singled out.

"Huh- Me!?" He asked nervously. "Um... my name is Hiroaki Hisashi. I'm the Ultimate Fanfic Author." He put softly.

"'Fanfic Author'?" Destiny repeated in an inquisitive tone.

"I um... write fanfiction." Hiroaki told everyone. "I-I guess I'm good at it..." He seemed to be really nervous.

"Um dude. Chill out, no one's gonna do anything to you." Juku said, in an attempt to ease Hiroaki's nerves. It seemed out of character considering he was just in a shouting match a moment prior.

"I'll introduce myself now." A girl in a knitted cap spoke up. Her short black hair combed evenly and curled at it's ends with her gray eyes. Her periwinkle fleece jacket over a pink tank top. All with a skirt and white heeled boots. "I'm Rei Naoko, the Ultimate Student. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, Rei." Atsushi said after being an observer for the past couple moments now. "So what do you do?"

"I specialize in being a student. Mostly reading and comprehension." She put plainly. Wow, an understatement for an Ultimate.

"ooh, ooh! Me next!" A girl shouted out. Her short and flat black hair was cut up to about her neck in length. She wore a cap, short sleeve button up and a pleated skirt. Her knee high boots had heels on them, giving her an appearance of being slightly taller than what she actually was. "I'm Chou Ayano! The Ultimate Gamer!"

In a heartbeat, Atsushi seemed to light up. He was about to ask a question until -"There are still a few more people. Let's hear them out before you ask any more questions." Makoto suggested. Atsushi gave a sigh of annoyance at being held back.

"It better be worth it." He said with a bit of annoyance.

"Okay! You next!" Makoto pointed to another person. This person had long chestnut hair under a sun hat. Her white button up had short sleeves and a green tie. Her plaid skirt went up to her knees and work boots at her feet, leaving her legs exposed for the world to see.

"Very well. My name is Hotaru Haruki. I am the Ultimate Botanist, which means I know plenty about plants." The girl stated as a response. Despite her seemingly love for gardening, she was unusually pale. "I do hope our friendship in our school days blossoms like flowers."

"What kinds of flowers?" Atsushi asked. It was nice to be curious but I don't think I've met someone who has *this* many questions.

"Save it for the end." Makoto commanded. Atsushi groaned in annoyance again. "Relax, there's only one more person."

"Me right?" A blond guy asked. His hair was very messy and he wore a blue jumpsuit and work boots while he wore gloves over his hands. His face was lightly decorated with freckles as he gave a goofy grin. "What's up?" He said nonchalantly. "The name's Ikazuchi Michi, the Ultimate Electrician."

"That's everyone." Makoto declared. "While Shin and Ryota are still at the dorms..."

"Uh-um..." Miyako stammered. Her face looked as though she wanted to say something but she was having trouble getting her words out. Makoto took notice of this.

"What is it, Miyako?" She asked the petite girl.

"W-well..." She paused for a moment, then said "Has anyone noticed the security cameras?"

"Huh? What cameras?" Juku asked.

"Of course an idiot like you would ask something like that." Akihiro piped up. Boy, he sure loves instigating situations I guess.

"W-w-what the hell is THAT supposed to mean!?" The larger boy inquired in anger.

Akihiro simply scoffed at him. Instead of a verbal response Akihiro simply pointed up towards the roof and we all looked at where he was pointing too. Hanging from the roof was a yellow security camera. It had it's attention fixated on us, as though we were the most interesting things in the room. The lens rotated and adjusted, most likely readjusting focus. Normally security cameras make me feel secure when I'm out and about. But this camera made me feel uncomfortable. "There was also one in the dormitory building." Akihiro explained.

"Really?" Hotaru asked.

"Yes. But given the circumstances, I can see why everyone missed it in the halls." Akihiro went on.

I gave a moment of thought to consider what he meant. "You mean how Shin and Ryota were making sure everyone was accounted for?" I asked.

"At least someone here has common sense." The Merchant stated bluntly.

"The security cameras are probably here for our protection." Makoto suggested. "I'm sure we've got nothing to fear." Even as she said that, I couldn't shake the feeling that wasn't their purpose entirely. At this point Ryota and Shin had entered the gym by themselves and looked to the cameras everyone was still staring at.

"So we're acknowledging them now?" The Artist asked, in an almost condescending tone.

"Yes. We didn't notice until Miyako and Akihiro pointed them out." Izanagi explained. "Makoto suggests it's for security measures."

"I can see why'd she think so." Ryota stated. "All the riots that have been going on must've caused the school to take an extra step in protection." Could that really be it? But something still seemed off somehow...

"Hey, where are the other fourteen students?" I asked the two boys.

Ryota looked at me with distress. "Unfortunately, we weren't able to find anybody else." He said.

"So it's just the sixteen of us then..." Hiroaki sighed. He sounded relieved somehow. My guess is that he doesn't like a lot of people but I can only imagine. "But it is a problem, right?"

"Yeah." Destiny replied. She then added "Cuz in my letter it said there were supposed to be 30 students. Did they miscount or something?"

"I doubt a school like Hope's Peak would miscount." Ikazuchi said. "My parents always said it was a prestigious and perfect place."

Atsushi then mumbled something that I couldn't quite understand. But before I could ask him an irritating laugh silenced everyone in a heartbeat.

"Puhuhuhu..." We all turned our attention to the front of the gymnasium with shock. While we were all staring at the podium an eerie presence filled the gym. Suddenly a stuffed toy emerged and plopped itself right onto the podium in front of the microphone set up there. It was a bear that was barely two and a half feet tall, or 76 cm, with a duo-toned color scheme. Half white and innocent while the other half was black and almost sinister in a way. "Welcome Group A!" The bear spoke with an unusual pep. It was definitely unnerving.

"A-A TALKING TOY!?" Juku shouted in shock. "No way in hell is this some normal school!"

"I'm not a toy!" The teddy bear denied. "I am Monokuma! You're Headmaster of this newly remodeled Hope's Peak Academy!"

"Where have I heard that before...?" Ikazuchi pondered as his voice trailed off.

Makoto let out a gasp. "Wait... You're the bear from the 78th class killing school life aren't you!?" She seemed to be in panic. I was to as she said those words. The one in charge of the killing school life was the one piloting Monokuma. Does that mean this is the same thing? We were all speechless as Makoto pointed out that fact.

"The one and only!" Monokuma gloated. "I'll give you all a moment to admire your super sugoi teacher~." He said this while rubbing the back of his head and giving us an almost seductive wink. "Oh, but don't think about anything naughty like that. I'm your headmaster after all." Monokuma looked as though he were sweating nervously.

"I-if you don't mind my asking..." Hotaru spoke up through the silence. "What happened to our fourteen missing classmates?"

"Wuzzat?" The bear asked in a cutesy voice.

"What happened to our fourteen missing classmates?" Hotaru repeated.

"Huh?" He asked innocently.

"What happened-"

"Save your breath Hotaru." Rei suggested. "He's just messing with you."

"How cruel Ms. Naoko..." Monokuma stated as he gave a glum look. It was like watching a hyperactive child with all the emotions this... thing was expressing. "But seriously, whaddya mean fourteen!?"He looked enraged for some reason.

"We mean our missing classmates." Akihiro retorted. "Give us a straight answer and stop wasting my time."

"Geez, you don't like messing around do ya?" Monokuma chuckled. "I'll have you know the fifteen students in Group B are still waiting for their opening ceremony."

Something was definitely wrong now. "Wait... fifteen!?" I cried out in horror. "What do you mean fifteen students!?"

"There's only thirty students enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy, correct?" Atsushi asked. "But there's sixteen of us here and apparently fifteen in some other group?"

"Why did we have to get math involved?" Ikazuchi groaned.

"That's simple addition though..." Akemi sighed.

"S-still! I hate having to count beyond my fingers!" He snapped.

"How are you able to be in high school again?" Izanagi asked. "It must be a test of endurance or a miracle if you've made it this far."

"Good one!" Monokuma laughed. "I'll be rooting for you in secret!"

"Enough games!" Shin shouted. "I demand answers! What on earth do you mean when you say sixteen of us here and fifteen somewhere else? Why are there thirty-one students!?"

"Thirty one? That sounds about right." Monokuma pondered. "Oh right. You all are new at this whole thing so I'll just come out and say it. This isn't gonna be some normal campus life or killing game like last time. It'd be too dull if we just kept doing the same things over and over and over again right? So, I decided we'll be holding TWO killing games back to back!"

"Wait, WHAT!?"Miyako cried in absolute panic. Tears were welling up in her eyes as she trembled with fear. "Two!?"

"Okay, that answers why there are so few of us here..." Hiroaki said. "But I don't get why there are thirty-one..."

"Well, to put it simply..." Monokuma went on. "... One of the thirty-one is a filthy little spy!" Monokuma chuckled as he said this. "Puhuhuhu, shocking isn't it?"

"Spy?" Atsushi asked.

"Ugh, must I explain myself every time!? I swear, you kids are getting more dense with age!" The bear shouted in annoyance. "One of you is a student in disguise!"

"One of 'us'?" Rei asked.

"Someone in Group A or B is someone I didn't account for! But I ultimately split you all up!" Monokuma said, proud of his efforts obviously.

"Why don't you just kill the traitor then?" Ryota asked. "We've all seen you do it before."

"This is something between all of you! So, since all of you already know the rules, I'll be brief." He went on. "Basically, kill one of your fellow classmates and get away with it! That's all!"

"Seriously?" Akemi asked, this time she seemed bored. "Like would anyone kill another?" Her question seemed to hang heavier around us than anyone would actually admit. We were all forced to watch the sadistic game the first time, and now we were all forced to play it ourselves.

(Music: Despair- A Hero's Cure) It felt ironic to me. It was one of those moments where you thought a situation like this could never happen to you. One where it was almost too surreal to be even true. But, here we are. Doubting each other. Forced to suspect and kill one another. Why does this have to happen? Who in their right minds could be sadistic enough to force us into something out of pure fiction? To evoke such misery and despair on High School students who didn't do anything wrong. I can only imagine what "Group B" Must be feeling at this moment in time, because we've got a treacherous path ahead of all of us.


	2. Prologue (B)

**Prologue:** **Welcome to a Refurbished Despair Pt. B**

* * *

' _So, this is the once great Hope's Peak Academy..._ ' I thought to myself as I stood in front of the building in a mixture of awe and anxiety. The school had received major renovations ever since the "Mutual Killing School Life of the 78th Class" and had to shut its doors almost for good in light of that incident. *Almost* mind you. The school did eventually reopen thanks to the cooperation of the Future Foundation and Togami Corporation. I was one of the students chosen to be a part of the 79th class of Hope's Peak Academy. Oh right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Hajime Kazuki, but just call me "Jay" please. It's not that I hate my name, but I strongly dislike the fact that I shared a first name with one of the individuals responsible for the "Tragedy" so I insisted everyone call me "Jay" or "Kazu" (Though I heavily prefer Jay). Not a spectacular reason I know, but it's just my petty personal opinion.

Also, to be 100% clear, that "Tragedy" officially came to an end last year and from what I understand this reopening came is the world's sort of way to solidify the foundation of a "new hope". Or at least that's how some people put it; I don't get it too much myself. How I got here you might be wondering? I was selected as "The Ultimate Luckster" or Lucky Student if you want to get technical. As it sounds, I was picked out of pure luck. I fit into the "ordinary" category very easily with my 5' 8" height and dark hair, I wore a bland white hoodie over my button up with black pants and a pair of popular sneakers directed towards boys. I may be ordinary but my luck is something that isn't. From personal experience I go through Good or Bad luck at pure random. It isn't just some normal level luck either; I can probably do something to improve lots of lives or accidentally indirectly maybe end some as well. But I'd rather not bore you with my battle of pessimism and optimism.

Overall, I was just excited. It's only in dreams do people wish to be "guaranteed" success and I was gonna live that dream. The next three years of my life were supposed to be filled with friends, cherish-able moments and most importantly "Hope". *Was* supposed to. I'd tell you more about my school days or even what the actual campus looked like but the second I took a step into school boundaries all of my senses became a blur. Each sensation slowly melting and swirling into a never ending, all consuming black abyss...

* * *

When I finally regained consciousness I expected to be carried to the infirmary but instead I was greeted to the sight of a room with pink wallpaper and an exceptionally soft bed. I never slept on a bed this soft before, not even back at home. I sat up and instantly felt a warm sunlight on the back of by neck. I looked out and saw a grassy campus field with a few structures I couldn't identify from my angle. Depending on the position of the sun I inferred it to be either early morning or late day but I couldn't tell. I got out of the bed and began to examine the room briefly. On the desk I found a key with the word "Kazuki" etched on it in romanji (all the keys are labelled that way. I left that fact out in "A" because of reasons.) and a secret room which the door refused to move. From what I can guess it must be my dorm room. Someone probably carried me here after blacking out and left the key on my desk so when I'd wake up I'd find it, yeah that sounds reasonable. Though who brought me here has me a little on edge now. I hope they didn't do anything to me or my room while unconscious.

I was preparing to step out when a sudden announcement rang throughout my room. On a monitor too high for me to reach was static. Through that static an eerily cheery voice spoke. " **Upupupu... Will all students please arrive at the Gymnasium now? Since you're all awake now, it's time to start your Orientation. Also, so you don't get lost all other facilities have been temporarily locked down.** " And that was all it said before the transmission was cut off and the screen blacked out. Why did that voice sound familiar? I couldn't put a name to a face but I've definitely heard that unusual voice before.

But I guess I didn't have time to worry about it now. I needed to head for the Gymnasium if I wanted any answers. So in order to follow through I walked out into the corridor where I saw other dorm rooms but no signs of life. Was everyone else at the Gym? One way to find out!

I took a stride down the hall and when I got to the door it wouldn't open. "Huh?" I found myself saying before I remembered the announcement. Looks like I duped and needed to go the other way, so I went running to the other side and found my way outside. Outside was significantly warmer but probably due to an air conditioner in the dorms. There was a cement walkway that went straight to another building that looked much larger than the dorm building. "Could that be the gym?" I pondered aloud. Note to self: Stop talking out loud. I rushed over to what I assumed to be the Gym. Looks like my assumption was right on the money as I opened up the double doors and was greeted to a typical gym like setting with what I estimated to be about 14 other students inside as well. Everything was awkwardly silent and not everyone looked up to acknowledge my presence. I figured I might as well be the one to break the silence, so I said "Hello everyone. I hope I'm not late. My name's Hajime Kazuki but everyone calls me "Jay"."

A boy around my height walked over to me, his bright brown hair and blue eyes gave him a cheery appearance. Or it could be because he was wearing a smile that felt natural. His clothing consisted of an unbuttoned button up with a t-shirt underneath and loose fitting jeans. His accessories was a rather unique pendant he wore around his neck. "Don't worry about that." He said in a very laid back tone. "I was literally the one before you for coming in so I can safely say you're not late." He gave a light chuckle as he casually placed his hands behind his head. "The name's Yukio Yuudai by the way." He said. "It's only polite to introduce myself. I'm known as the "Ultimate Hero"."

"What kind of talent is that?" I asked, absolutely baffled at his talent.

"You know, I did a lot of valiant acts and Hope's Peak just came to me..." Yukio replied. "By the way, what's your talent?"

Suddenly I felt a whole lot inferior. I can only imagine what he means by 'valiant' acts that definitely earned him the title of "Hero". Whilst all I had going for me was luck, which I seemed to be coasting on. For a moment, before I replied, it occurred to me that everyone else probably worked hard to get where they are while I had an easy way out and just got lucky. "I'm... the "Ultimate Luckster"." I mumbled, feeling my once positive attitude slowly shrink into a darker part of my mind. I half expected Yukio to look down on me or to recoil with disgust as I told him.

But he just gave a relaxed smile and said "That's friggin' awesome." I was now confused and I guess it showed on my face as he now gave a confused look. "Huh? What's wrong?"

"Oh, um... nothing I guess." I told him and he shrugged it off. Suddenly his face lit up with an idea when he suddenly declared "Hey everyone! Let's all introduce ourselves! You know to kill some time while we wait."

"Why?" One of the students asked.

"To kill some time." Yukio repeated.

"Why go through all that trouble when not everyone's here to begin with? I don't want to feel redundant." Another person replied.

"It's better than being in a room with strangers." Yukio stated calmly. He was definitely going to be a fun guy to have around.

"Fine. I guess I might as well join your little "Pow wow"..." a girl said in an irate tone. She brushed her blond highlighted brown hair out of her face as she gave a pout. Her medium length hair must've been dyed because no one has that natural of a yellow. On her head she wore a cap that I wasn't even sure of the name, and her clothes were rather skimpy. Her tank top had thin straps on her shoulders and her skirt was no where near her knees and her platform boots went all the way to her knees. "I'm Emiko Kamiko, the Ultimate Fashionista. I, like, set trends and love looking good. I guess." She said, her voice going from irritated to just simply bored. "There, happy?" Emiko didn't seem all that interested to begin with as she found more entertainment by playing with her hair. I thought it best if we should leave her be.

"Shall I speak next?" A proper voice spoke. His face held a genuine look of confusion as he asked this. His jet black hair neatly combed to one side, while he wore what might as well be an everyday suit. Those brown eyes scanned over the whole room of the fourteen of us as he waited for a response. The only other thing that was noteworthy was the freckles on his face. "Very well, I shall proceed now. I am Kazuhiro Hisao and I was accepted into the academy as the Ultimate Heir."

"'Ultimate Heir'?" I asked, not entirely sure what he meant by that.

"After I graduate from this school, I am supposed to inherit three companies." Kazuhiro replied nonchalantly.

"Wait, SERIOUSLY!?" I asked with shock. "T-there's no way that's possible!" I stammered out.

"That's why I am the Ultimate Heir I suppose." Kazuhiro shrugged. He definitely wasn't the "normal" type of guy. Not that I expected there to be an abundance of normal in this new class.

"Okay! Let's see..." Yukio cut in. He gave a "Hmm" as he scanned the room of students. He then pointed to someone. "You look friendly! Tell us your name!" Yukio cried out. The guy he was pointing to WASN'T friendly looking at all. He was a tall fellow, if I had to guess he was just barely over seven feet, and this person was built like a juggernaut! Each muscle on his body ripped and bulging excessively that gave off a menacing vibe, he barely fit into his hoodie. His black hair was long and reached down to his waist as it spiked in certain places and had a dark green highlight to it. Those amber eyes didn't help him win any friendly appearances either. There was just no way he could be a high school student! His arms were crossed and he remained silent even after being called upon. Yukio didn't seem to have a sense of caution as he kept pressing for an answer. "Hey! You heard me!?"

"Y-you're insane!" Emiko shouted at Yukio, "You really wanna piss off a guy like HIM!? He'll grind you to a pulp!" She sounded concerned for Yukio and irritated at the same time.

"No he won't. We're classmates." Yukio said with a smile. That left the rest of us utterly confused.

"-Fine. I'll tell you." The guy said in an absolutely deep and masculine voice. Holy shit, this guy was scary. "Tatsuya Raiden. The Ultimate Combatant." He then fell into silence once more. I better not get on Tatsuya's bad side then.

"T-t-that's all you have to s-say!?" A girl stammered. Her long and messy lavender hair matched her cardigan, she seemed to fidget from side to side nervously as she spoke these words. Her red eyes behind her large spectacles stared at Tatsuya nervously. Her long skirt covered most of her bottom half and she wore what looked to be a skull ring on her left ring finger. When Tatsuya didn't say anything to the girl she began to blush and chuckle to herself. "Hehehe... Hehehehehehehe..." Steam seemed to raise from out of nowhere and fogged up her glasses. "T-the strong and stoic type...!" She half mumbled, half moaned to herself. A drool line evident on the side of her face.

"Uhhh..." All I could do was raise an eyebrow at her mysterious antics.

"D-don't look at me like that...!" She gasped out suddenly, while trying to cover up her face. "If you want an i-introduction... I'm K-Kohaku Mari... The Ultimate Medium."

"Nice to meet you K-Kohaku!" Yukio declared. She now seemed upset.

"A-are you making fun of me!?" Kohaku stammered in anger.

"Huh!? N-no I just thought that's how it was pronounced...!"

"Y-y-y-y-you were making fun of my s-speech impediment!" She was now absolutely angry. But if she was known as the Ultimate Medium then that must mean...

"You can communicate with spirits of the dead right?" Kazuhiro asked.

"Wait, you mean like ghosts?" I asked in turn. All she did was nod and wander away in annoyance. I could tell she wanted to keep talking but Yukio had upset her too much. Nothing good was gonna come out of it if I tried to pry so I left her alone for now. I glared at Yukio for being insensitive but he just ignored it and said "Next!" like some big shot director.

"I'll go next." This next student was also a girl. She seemed pretty short, around 5'1" maybe? She wore glasses as well but her brown hair was cut to be no longer than her chin line. Her green eyes and gentle smile gave her a very relaxed disposition. She wore a hoodie that seemed to be at least a size too big and her white button up was done all the way to the top. Her skirt went to her knees and her long boots had two little balls of fluff on each of them. "I'm Amaya Chika, the Ultimate Collector. I collect bottlecaps, stamps, coins, feathers, butterflies..." Her list just seemed to drone on and I just stopped listening altogether.

"That's fantastic!" Yukio shouted with glee. Was he insane? Or just too upbeat for his own good? "Did you bring any of that stuff with you?"

"I think so." She said, "But I couldn't find it in the dorm rooms."

"Speaking of which." A calm boy said. He adjusted his tie that was wrapped around his collared shirt, his black hair messy and strewn about here and there. He was dressed in the basic Hope's Peak Academy uniform. "Has anyone noticed all of their things went missing?"

"Now that you mention it... yeah." I said.

"Same here." Everyone said as they gave it a moment to dwell.

"But, don't let me stop you from having "fun". I'll be over here, being serious. Masato Osamu by the way. Ultimate Mathematician." Geez what a killjoy.

"Whatever you say!" I expected that to come from Yukio but he didn't say anything at all. It came from a tan boy that was slightly taller than I was. He had rugged facial features and dark brown hair, cut to be a crew cut but more skyward. His sleeveless orange hoodie exposed his thick build and revealed body hair. Seriously, were the guys here super masculine or did they just get held back? "Hey guys. I'm Yoichi Kunio, the Ultimate Web Star! Got all kinds of things on the internet so maybe you've heard of me." He gave a goofy grin as he said this. No one validated that statement with a response so Yoichi went on. "And this here's my younger brother, Saburo." He held in a side hug a boy of similar skin tone and smaller build. Still had a decent amount of body hair though. One trait that offset them though was their hair color was polar opposites. Yoichi had dark brown hair but Saburo had snowy white hair. If that wasn't a thing then they would've been identical. And their clothes were different since Saburo covered up more with a long sleeved black windbreaker zipped all the way up. He hid his mouth inside of the collar of the jacket as he was thrown into the spotlight.

"Now that I think about it..." Amaya trailed off. "'Kunio' means 'country man'. Did you come from the countryside then?"

"Yep!" Yoichi grinned. "We did lots of hard work from where we're from and had different um... values from everyone else, so that's why we look a little older. Though I'm the oldest of three! I got held back twice though..." He said that last sentence sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. I don't believe I've heard of him quite as well as I should have but he was very entertaining. Wish I did though.

Saburo, on the other hand, had an expressionless face. He refused to move or do anything. He just remained staring at everyone, though not in a way that'd make you uncomfortable. It was just weird since he didn't really seem to care. Apathetic almost. He didn't talk up once the entire time. I think it'd be best if we tried asking his talent another time, he seemed unusually cold too.

"Well, to be polite, I should go next." A tall girl in a traditional kimono said. Her long hair tied into two pigtails and seemed to reach her waist still. Her height must've been close to 6' (Forgive me. I am a US citizen so I don't use the metric system often) "I am Natsuko Ren. Also known as the Ultimate Traditional Dancer." She said.

"Would we be able to see you dance sometime?" Kazuhiro asked.

"I can only hope." Natsuko answered with a smile. She seemed nice.

"My turn! My turn!" An excited but irritating voice said. Her hair tied into a duotoned braid, one light brown and one pink. Her clothes totally screamed rockstar with her ripped pants and t-shirt with a band on it, one I've never heard of. "I'm Shinju Suzu! The Ultimate Instrumentalist, ready to make some sick beats!"

"D-don't strain yourself using that voice." A blond girl said.

"Huh? But this is my normal voice."

"Ah-! Oh my goodness, forgive me!" The girl said. Her short blond hair was tied into a small bun while she dressed in what can be considered "business casual" attire, with a white lab coat over her clothes. She seemed slightly stressed out. "I'm Yukino Toshiko, the Ultimate Doctor. If you ever get sick or hurt let me know and I'll help you get better."

"Thanks doc!" Shinju said with glee.

"Sorry to interject." A rather rotund male interjected. His black hair virtually nonexistent as he seems to have shaved it off. His chubby fingers pointed to the crowd and his skin seemed to almost gleam under the lighting of the gymnasium. "Behold, for I am Shigeo Kyou! The Ultimate Connoisseur! The decider of fates as well!"

"Wait, what!?" I declared in confusion. "There's not way that's possible!"

"Indeed it is, dear Hajime." He said.

"D-don't call me that!" I told him. "I said Jay is fine!"

"Looks like being in this gym is making you crazy." Emiko smirked.

"Anyway, I've decided!" Shigeo went on. "I'm going to rate all of you through your cooking!"

"Really? We have to cook for you?" Natsuko asked.

"Damn, if only I paid attention to Juku..." Yoichi mumbled.

"We can do that later." Yukio said. "We still have one more person left."

"Me right?" The last girl asked. Her short black hair reached her neck and in her hair she had a kitty barrette in her hair on left side. Her school uniform consisted of a puffy white shirt with a red scarf tied in a basic school girl sailor knot while her black skirt made a cone shape almost and was in a black color. "Well, here goes... I'm Chidori Yukimura."

"What's your talent?" Yukio asked.

"It's um.. kind of embarrassing." Chidori seemed nervous but that went unnoticed by Yukio.

"Nonsense. Now, pretty please? We can't have you AND Saburo silent." Now that I think about it, Yukio has been driving on most of this conversation through these small acts of begging and persuasion. He's able to make people talk by acting innocent and curious, and to be honest, that's kinda scary.

"O-okay." Chidori replied. "I'm the Ultimate Charisma..."

"Charisma? Doesn't that mean "Appeal"?" I asked her.

"Um... yeah. Apparently I have the natural talent to appeal to a lot of people. It doesn't make a lot of sense." She replied.

"It doesn't sound stupid though." I told her. "I bet you must've been popular before coming here."

"I guess. I mean... I dunno." Chidori said. She was going to tell me something else but we were all interrupted by Masato.

"Now that we're all introduced, I'd like to propose several observations I've made." He stated coolly. "First, it seems we're all missing our personal belongings except for clean clothes."

"Our cellphones included..." Emiko sighed in a bit of sadness. "...and I had made it cute and everything..."

"Second, I've noticed the security cameras up there and there was one present in the dorm building." Masato went on, clearly unconcerned with Emiko's problems.

"Maybe these are all security measures?" Yukio suggested. "Like, in case anyone brought something dangerous or unwholesome."

"...Not likely." Saburo suddenly cut in harshly. His voice icy and apathetic while he spoke rather low. I almost shivered for a moment, anticipating for him to say more. That was all he said.

"I-it doesn't make sense to just take stuff and leave our clothes." Kohaku stated.

"Maybe they checked those first?" Natsuko inputted, though she sounded skeptical behind that logic.

"No." Shigeo said. "They left us with our clean clothing because they wanted us to have those but nothing else."

"Huh- why!?" Kazuhiro shouted.

"It probably has something to do with the cameras. Think about it, and you'll reach an answer." Masato advised.

"You make no sense..." Amaya sighed.

"So then..." I pondered for a moment as to what it could all mean. Then I began to realize an ugly truth. "I-it can't be...!? Another killing game...!?" I was scared. I didn't want it to be true. I couldn't accept it to be fact.

"That's a conclusion I've reached as well." Masato said. "I've considered the possibility of this to be true at about 45%."

"That's not very high..." Yoichi said, sounding relieved.

"But it's not exactly low either." Yukino stated.

"Wellllll, if you're all DYING to know, I guess I should get this show on the role now." An eerily cheerful voice rang through the air. Everyone suddenly froze in silence as that dreadful voice turned all of our blood into ice. From the podium at the end of the gymnasium a black and white bear jumped up and plopped right on it. There was no way-

"Gooood afternoon class!" The bear declared. "I am Monokuma! And I am your new headmaster!"

"You're... what?" Yukio asked with a nervous smile.

"I'm your new headmaster!" Monokuma said with a creepy chuckle. I think it was something like an "upupupu..."

"You!?" Shinju shouted, clearly voicing her objection. "Get your duotoned ass the hell out of here!"

"No way! I'm here to stay!" He laughed.

"We already know what you'll do if we stay here..." Tatsuya spoke up. "That's why you need to leave."

"Aw... you guys should know I'm very serious... Group A knew." Monokuma said with a bit of melancholy.

"Group A?" I asked. "Are you talking about the missing fifteen students?"

"Fifteen? Oh, looks like you made a mistake." Monokuma told us. "There's sixteen students in Group A, and fifteen in Group B."

"Wait, what!?" Chidori asked. "How can there be thirty-one?"

"One of the thirty-one students is a dirty little traitor of the Future Foundation!" Monokuma declared.

"B-but aren't they the good guys in this...?" Yukio asked. "Why should we care if one of us is a spy!?"

"Be-Cu-uz..." Monokuma said, extending the syllables in 'because'. "Exposing them is a ticket out of here for everyone else!"

"Huh?" I asked. "So we have to sacrifice one of us here in order to escape? How are we gonna do that if we don't know everyone!"

"That's you guys' problem." Monokuma grinned- er, said happily.

"Why would we do that? All we have to do is sit back and watch you get bored and leave right?" Emiko asked.

"Bzzt, wrong!" Monokuma laughed, then became pissed. "You aren't taking this seriously! Fine then! I'll show you how serious I can be!" From behind Monokuma rose a sort of video board and it seemed to be turned off.

"Huh? A video?" Amaya inquired.

"Nope, even better. A live stream!" He laughed.

"A what!?" Natsuko asked. She didn't get an answer as all the lights went off and the video monitor blared to life. On screen was a woman with silver hair, pale skin and purple eyes. She had been gagged so she couldn't speak at all. I recognized her, she was one of the survivors from the other killing game a few years ago. It'd be natural to see her age.

(Extra Lessons for the Mysterious) "Now then, it's time to finish off where we last left off!" Monokuma roared with a ferocity. The camera then began to zoom out of her face to give us a more panoramic view of where she was. It was bad to look. She had been bound to a desk with iron chain and the desk had been bolted to a conveyor belt. That conveyor belt led to a giant garbage compactor going up and down, up and down, up and... down... this wasn't good. The conveyor belt began to move, the bolted desk closer and closer to the compactor ever so slowly. So agonizingly slow. It wasn't a quick death you'd want to get over it. It was drawing out each moment of her life, giving her despair... I wanted to turn away but I couldn't because I had frozen completely. The worst part is that stupid bear was teaching her about sex ed. Not only did she have to suffer time but she also had to suffer from this annoying... toy thing- whatever word you wanted to use to objectify Monokuma, use it. We all stood in silence as the desk was finally under the compactor. I held my breath waiting for that compactor to finally bring it's weight down upon Kyoko Kirigiri... to end her life this time. And much to my dismay it did. However not once. Over and over and over and over again. It was sick, each time that sickening sound of being crushed reverberated throughout the room. That garbage compactor had now been stained with her blood and there was nothing we could've done to help her. To save her. We all kept watching until the video frizzed out and the lights came back on.

(Despair- A Hero's Cure) My face may now have a permanent shock to it now as I felt my jaw drop and my eyes go wide with terror. Was that... real?

"WHADDAFUCK!?" Shinju shouted, her words and fear not cooperating very well together.

"A-AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Kohaku and Yoichi screamed at the top of their lungs.

"N-no way..." Chidori mumbled, tears streaming down her face as she collapsed to the ground.

"Chidori!" I cried, coming out of my daze and kneeling to her side. "Chidori...!" Tears were falling from her face as she began to tremble.

"S-she didn't have to die..." Chidori was trembling as she spoke. "S-she died... because of us... why...?" Was it really our fault? I know I should be angry at Monokuma for just killing someone who had done nothing wrong, but to tell the truth I was terrified. He just killed someone on the spot. He probably could do that to us if he wanted to. I tried not to cry, but I couldn't help it. I tried to blink my watery eyes away but that only worked against me as my tears fell. I felt someone put a hand on my back and when I looked up to see... it was Saburo. I looked back down at the trembling Chidori and we both let our tears fall. The air definitely hang heavy.

So this is despair. Not just any old feeling of darkness. This was probably the true depths of helplessness. No one could say anything, from shock I imagined. We all just witnessed someone die. But "he" did. "Whew, what a good warm up~!" He said in a cheery tone. "But I hope you know what this means..." He went on. "I'm deadly serious about my games."

With that, he and the cursed monitor vanished with a whir. I couldn't stop tears from falling. We were being forced to suspect each other because it was all our fault. He killed Kyoko because we refused to listen to him. I then began to wonder and fear who else he was holding hostage. And who was "Group A"? Did they have to go through what we did?

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (31)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - Ultimate Actress  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou - Ultimate Connosseiur  
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai - Ultimate Hero**

* * *

 **Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. Don't worry, the numbers will be trimmed soon. BWAHAHAHA!**


	3. Behind Closed Walls (A)

**Chapter 1** **: Behind Closed Walls (A)**

* * *

I did the most logical thing I could think of that anyone would have done in my position would have done: I locked myself in my room. Monokuma's words still resonated in my mind...

" _Kill one of your fellow classmates and get away with it! That's all!_ " Could one of us just off another like that? Is that even possible?

He was just so straightforward with his demands, it's like he doesn't care in a way. I wasn't sure how I'd be able to cope with all this information he gave us. I was starting to feel a little lightheaded so I went to lie down on my bed and started up the e-Handbook Monokuma gave us. Surely enough it displayed my name and all my student information except my talent. I'm not lying, under "talent" has "?" next to it. I was confused, because if he was really all knowing shouldn't he have access to that information or something?

Next I went to read the Rules and Regulations:

 _ **1\. Students may explore the campus grounds to their hearts content with little restrictions. It is unadvised to search for an "exit".  
2\. 10 PM-7 AM is considered "Nighttime". At this time certain facilities will be shut down until "Daytime" starts.  
3\. Sleeping anywhere other than the dorms is strictly prohibited and will be punishable by law.  
4\. Assaulting Headmaster Monokuma is off limits. You will be punished by the fullest extent.  
5\. Giving your handbook to someone else is strictly prohibited.  
6\. In order to "Escape", you must kill someone and get away with it in a class trial. Failure to get away with it will result in punishment.  
7\. Students will have several hours to investigate before the class trial after the "Body Discovery Announcement" plays.  
8\. More rules may be added when necessary.**_

I'm not surprised most of these rules were from the first killing school life. Well, whatever the case was I didn't have much time to think about it as I began to doze off into a restless sleep...

I had been awoken by a knocking on my door. "Akiko?" A voice called out. Was that...?

"Akemi?" I asked as I sat up. I stretched out my body and went to the door. When I opened it I saw Akemi standing there patiently. She was giving me a soft smile, one that felt genuine. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to get you." Akemi told me. "We're having a meeting in the dining commons right now. After the morning announcements we're supposed to head there. That's what we agreed on yesterday... But you, Akihiro, and Hotaru weren't there because you had all gone back to your rooms."

"Oh... I'm sorry." I replied with my usual shy voice. I felt kinda selfish for not helping out in anyway.

"No worries." She said in a gentle tone. That seemed kinda normal for her, like it was her natural self. "Anyways, we're all meeting up at the Dining Commons. I'll take you there." So I followed Akemi to the Dining Commons. Along the way I got a better view of the "Campus" grounds. There were several buildings, a large one in the middle, the dorms, the gymnasium, and two other buildings that paled in comparison to the building in the center. They were all connected by concrete walkways and a sea of really green grass. With the occasional tree here and there. The campus had been surrounded by a few walls that looked difficult to climb up but not as tall as I would have expected. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what also looked to be a bus, however Akemi and I had finally entered the Dining Commons. "Hey guys!" Akemi shouted with a cheerful note. She changed personalities in a sense. It's not like she was a Schizo, but I guess being the "Ultimate Actress" means being able to play multiple parts. I'd have to ask her about that later if I had the time. Everyone else had been gathered, those who chose to remain independent sat at their own table while the others convened at a table in the middle. I was shocked to find a buffet style breakfast laid out and it all looked surprisingly edible. I had seen Juku and Hiroaki grabbing plates full of food before sitting with the others.

"Welcome back Akemi. I see Akiko is finally here." Makoto declared. "We were worried about you three yesterday."

"Really?" Hotaru asked. "My apologies for causing concern... I guess."

"Yeah, I'm sorry too..." I told everyone as I grabbed a plate of food as well and sat next to Akemi.

Akihiro looked on in distaste at the group as he sat at a table with Izanagi. "Don't expect me to apologize." He spat blatantly.

"Whatever. No one would accept your apology anyway." Juku told him.

Chou gave a sigh. "Give it a rest you two. Anyway, this is our first breakfast meeting right? What's on the agenda today?"

"Very well." Makoto chimed in. "Allow me to begin the meeting. I'd like everyone to state their findings from yesterday, to get Akiko, Akihiro, and Hotaru all caught up." Diligent as always, Makoto.

"Ooh, ooh! Let me go first!" Akemi blurted in utter glee. I swear any louder and this girl could make me go deaf. Makoto gave her a nod and all of our attention had been fixated on Akemi. "Okay, so um... I went searching with Miyako and Destiny. We had to look at the dorms and uh... what did we find again?"

"W-we um... found that all the dorms have a single bathroom, bed and desk. Everyone has a key to get in..."

"Okay? Anything of value?" Shin asked. "I didn't search my room thoroughly but I know that much. Tell us something we don't know please." That was worded to be polite but it came off as rude.

"Well, for your information, we found that every room has a set of working gloves and a survival kit. It had a knife, some rope, a water canister, and some crackers."

"No doubt placed by our "beloved" headmaster..." Izanagi muttered.

"Okay. And that was all you found out?" Makoto asked the three girls. They all nodded in unison and Makoto moved on to the next group: Shin, Ryota and Atsushi. "So boys, can you tell us what you found in your area?"

"It was a campus store." Ryota said. "And it definitely came with everything. From snacks, clothes, books..."

"And weapons." Atsushi said like it wasn't a big deal.

"Wait, weapons?" Hotaru asked.

"Monokuma probably put them there. In case the survival kit doesn't work out." Shin replied. "If I remember correctly, it had all kinds of blades and blunt objects. Also a couple fire arms here and there."

"I see..." Hotaru muttered, a little concern had become apparent in her voice.

"There is one good thing." Atsushi added cheerfully. "We can just take anything from the store without having to pay. All the shelves get restocked daily so we don't have to worry."

"How would you know that?" I asked him.

"I asked Monokuma." He said normally. We all sat in astonishment for a moment before Juku spoke up first.

"You're now forbidden from talking. Forever, got it?" Juku told him. Atsushi remained silent but him calm smile remained on his face. Not unsettling but just sad that he listened to Juku.

"Let's move on, and Atsushi you may speak whenever you like." Makoto told the engineer. He nodded but didn't say anything. Makoto shook her head and decided to avoid another shit storm and went on to the next group. "Okay, the one's in charge of the Dining Commons were... Izanagi, Juku, and Hiroaki correct? Would you mind saying what you found?"

"Uh... well, you see..." Juku said.

"We didn't get anything done." Izanagi said with an exasperated tone.

"Huh, why?" Makoto asked sternly.

"Because... well..." Juku stuttered.

"They were arguing." Hiroaki said. "They wouldn't stop fighting over something mundane so I had searched by myself." Wow, that was impressive. But Hiroaki sounded sad when he said that. Did he feel bad for not being able to stop the arguing or not because they left him to work alone. "Monokuma appeared out of nowhere and told me meals would be served at different times of day. Once after the morning announcement, which is 7 AM to 9 AM. Once at 12 PM to 2 PM. And once more at 7 PM to 9 PM. He said we're allowed to take snacks from the store if we got hungry in between dining times."

"Y-you talked to Monokuma too?" Chou asked, sounding nervous.

"Um... yeah but... he said that and left." Hiroaki said. "So I guess we don't wanna miss meal times throughout the day."

"Excellent Hiroaki. You saved your group from failure." Makoto stated, throwing salt into Juku and Izanagi's guilt. "Moving on, we have our last group. Rei, Chou and Ikazuchi."

"Right." Ikazuchi replied. "You know that building in the middle? It's just a lame school building."

"Lame school building?" Akihiro repeated inquisitively.

"Yeah, like classrooms and junk..." The electrician sighed.

"Only you would find classrooms boring." Rei sighed. "But, inside that building we found a library full of different genres of books. Including Manga and some rather... questionable tastes."

"How so?" I asked.

"You would need to see for yourself. That's the best way I can put it..." Chou said. Somehow she seemed to be physically uncomfortable with whatever they found. I didn't want to know.

"I wish I had gone with your group. I could've seen what manga they had..." Hiroaki muttered.

"So that's everyone else's reports?" Makoto asked. No one replied so she took it as a yes and went on. "And finally what I observed as I patrolled alone."

"I was wondering what you were doing." Akihiro stated.

"I went around, getting a good feel for the area and I noticed several things. One, there was a bus right next to a stop. Two, there was a closed off route. Most likely the bus will travel that way... Unfortunately I didn't find anything else noteworthy. Nor could I get beyond that barricade."

"A bus, huh?" Hotaru asked. "It does make one wonder what it could mean..."

"Maybe, there's more areas?" Rei suggested. "Like, to be opened later."

Could there really be more areas? But how could all that work out? So, let me recap everything I know for now. There are five buildings in total: The Dorms, The Dining Commons, The Main Building, The Gymnasium, and the School Store... "Hey...do you guys know about the rules?"

"The rules?" Makoto seemed confused now.

"Yeah. They came programmed in our e-Handbooks..." Miyako said. "... it seems like they're connected to a single server. Someplace where they all can be connected..."

"What...?" Ikazuchi asked with confusion.

"Like... you know how Wi-Fi works?" Miyako questioned.

"Of course." Izanagi said. "We live in the modern era."

"Right. Anyway... it seems the e-Handbooks work with this server similar to a Wi-Fi connection..." Miyako deduced.

"You could tell just by looking!?" Chou asked in disbelief.

"Well, it was just a guess. I don't have any actual proof." Miyako added.

"Coming from you, it sounds entirely possible." I told her. "So whenever a rule gets added or some other thing, we can see it. He sends it to all e-Handbooks through a Wi-Fi connection."

"Well um... yeah."

"Interesting..." Akihiro mumbled to himself. "Well, I hope you don't intend on keeping us here all day."

"One last thing." Atsushi finally said. "I hope I'm not getting in the way or anything but... I think we all should be in the dorms by nighttime."

"I agree. In case someone gets any funny ideas." Izanagi added.

"Of course." Makoto stated calmly. "Alright, today's meeting is adjourned. All dismissed."

And so, that's when our real school life began. I think we had been inside this one area for three days and people were already making habits of where they wanted to be. We all met up at the designated times for our meals, we all searched for some kind of answers, but most of all we kept looking for a way out. Three days of the same routine, of searching the same places, of just trying to live together. It wasn't easy for some, but for others it was a breeze. I spent most of my days getting comfortable with most of my fellow Ultimates. I was starting to get closer and closer to them, almost ready to call them my friends. However, it was the start of the fourth day.

I walked into the Dining Commons for Dinner Time. I saw Hiroaki, Akemi, Makoto, Rei, Miyako, Shin and Ryota all gathered in the building. They all looked concerned about something. "Huh, what's wrong you guys?" I asked.

"Well... um..." Miyako wanted to answer, but she was having a hard time getting her words together.

"Monokuma was just here a moment ago and..." Makoto started, but then trailed off. Her anxiety wasn't apparent on her face, but her voice gave her away.

"He taunted us..." Akemi said in a serious tone. "Like, ' _You guys are SLACKERS_!'" She tried to do her best impression of Monokuma, which was very convincing but not spot on. " _'I've never met students more unmotivated than your group! Group B already has a murder investigation underway and you're all here, being lazy!_ ' Just like that! I swear, that bear is so rude."

"Wait, someone from Group B... Did that?" Just what exactly was going on with Group B? Was he telling the truth? Could a murder really take place? Before I could inquire any further, the monitor blared to life and on screen was Monokuma.

" **This is a school announcement. I'd like for everyone to meet up in the Gymnasium for an important assembly.** " And that was it. The monitor cut off before saying anymore.

"Is this... gonna be a motive?" Hiroaki asked, and his question made me concerned. It's true, in the other game the only reason they could gather in the Gymnasium was just to receive a motive to kill. Is it really...?

"We won't know until we go and see for ourselves." Shin spoke, his words cutting in like a sharp knife.

"He's right. We have to go." Rei said in her usual calm demeanor. We didn't have much of a choice to begin with and we all made our way to the Gymnasium in an almost mechanical fashion. By the time we got there our other peers were already there.

"Geez, slow much?" Juku questioned.

Akihiro groaned at his question but chose not to say anything.

"Well, you all took your sweet time." Monokuma's voice rang through the Gymnasium. Much like the first time he emerged from nowhere and plopped right onto the podium at the front. "Upupupu, I felt I had to make an example of one of you. Like how I did with Group B."

"What happened with Group B?" Rei asked.

"Nothing you all need to worry about. Oh, I also hope you're looking for the spy."

"Why? It seems counter intuitive to help you in that regard." Makoto pointed out. "After all, they're working against you. So why would we reveal them?"

"If you all wanna get out of here you better be ready to point them out!" Monokuma told them. "Whatever, that's not why I called you here. I've noticed your lack of motivation as a group is very low. So 'Bear'-y low..." Ugh, now he's making puns?

"'Motivation'? Look you demented Teddy Bear." Ikazuchi spoke up. "We're not playing your sick game. Group B can do whatever the hell they want but that won't change anything."

"He's right." Akemi said. "Why kill each other?"

"You're no fun. But I'm all out of people to execute for now, so that isn't a good motivation. So I'm just gonna tell you all outright!"

"Huh?" Most of us asked.

He gave that creepy 'Upupupu' laugh he always gives and then said the unthinkable. "I took your memories and you're all actually a whole year older and everything."

"...Come again?" Hotaru was probably the most confused. Was it like, her life mission to ask questions?

"It's been a whole year since you came to Hope's Peak Academy!" Monokuma repeated.

"Right." Destiny said in disbelief. "Let me just get my next ticket for the crazy train. My next stop is probably gonna be 'hubris'. Are you kidding me!?"

"When would I joke!?" Monokuma asked. Sounding offended in a way.

"You're serious then...?" I asked.

"So serious! Anyway, I've got to get back to Group B now. I need to rush and harass- I mean tell them they're time is almost up and they'll need to start for reals." Monokuma said.

"Hey, wait a second you Monochrome Turd!" Juku shouted but Monokuma had already disappeared. Did someone from Group B actually kill? I know I asked that already but this question kept playing over and over and over again in my head. But more importantly, was what he said really true? That we've been going to school for a year... only to have that stripped from us. I couldn't understand it.

" **This is a school announcement. It is now officially nighttime. As such, the Dining Commons and Bus Shuttle will be closed for the Evening. Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite.** " And with that, it was now nighttime... We really couldn't say much else so I told everyone I was going to bed and everyone else followed my example one by one. When I got in my room the first thing I did was shower and went right to sleep. Though much like the first night it was a restless sleep thanks to Monokuma...

I had awoken to the sound of Monokuma's announcement. " **Good Morning everyone! Get ready to greet another beautiful day!** " I groggily sat up and got dressed in my normal attire and made my way to the Dining Commons. It looked like I was one of the early birds, as usual. This usually consisted of myself, Rei, Makoto, Hiroaki, Atsushi, and Shin. We're what's known as "Ideal Students" I guess, since we're always early.

Then the group of "Average Teenager" walked in. This made up a majority of the group. Hotaru, Chou, Izanagi, Ryota, Miyako, and Akemi fit this category. However all but Akemi walked in. It was fine, I guess. We didn't have to meet up on the dot. So she might show up with the last group.

The people who don't really care for others time. This consisted of Akihiro, Juku, (both of which were always late) Ikazuchi, and Destiny. These people only worked on their personal schedule with no regard for others. We all ate our meals in silence. I watched the doors, anticipating Akemi to come bursting in and being her vivid self. But we had been sitting all the way until 8:30. Akemi never missed breakfast meeting. If it were lunch then it would be understandable but... "I'm worried guys." Destiny finally said, breaking the barrier of silence we had all built. "What if she's oversleeping? I-I'd feel bad..." She said, but we all knew that wasn't the case. Something must've gone terribly wrong somewhere. Deep down I felt that was true.

"...We gotta find her!" I suddenly blurted out, not waiting for anyone else I ran out the door. I didn't want to accept the fact that a classmate could be dead. I couldn't. I started with the first logical place, her room. I banged on her door with all my might. "Akemi, are you in there!?" I cried out.

"...Huh?" A voice came through the other side. "CRAP! I OVERSLEPT!"Akemi shouted. Relief washed over me as I heard her cries of frustration at being late. She had just overslept. When she finally opened her door she was her usual self! It was a little after 9 o'clock. I had told her everyone had gathered in the Dining Hall already, and she seemed upset.

"I'm so sorry!" She pleaded. "I didn't mean to make you worry so much. Not only that, I missed breakfast..." she groaned.

I thought for a moment and then said "Why not try the Campus Store? It should have all kinds of snacks."

"You're right!" She beamed. It was nice to know I helped her. "Um, would you mind coming with me?" She asked.

"Why?" I asked her.

"Well, we have spent some time together before and uh... no it's nothing." She said.

"Sure then. I didn't have much planned for today anyway." I told her. Akemi giggled in a rather girly way. This is actually the longest she's spent as "cheery" Akemi. There were main components to the Ultimate Actress I've picked up on: There's "royal", "tough", "depressed", and "serious" Akemi along with cheery. I attributed it to her career as an actress but could there be another reason?

We went to show everyone that Akemi was well, to which everyone was relieved, and then made our way for the Campus Store. I hadn't been in there too often due to the weapons located inside, but I decided to enter for Akemi's sake. "Akiko, thank you for coming with me here." She said.

"No problem." I told her. We walked over to the snack aisle and went over everything. "Senbei, Kibidango, Kinakobo... wow, this place has so much. Even a few American snacks too."

"Oh my gosh." She said in her "serious" tone. "They have Pocky. I love Pocky!" Somehow, it wasn't as cute since she was still "serious".

"It's a pretty sweet snack alright." I said, "But isn't having chocolate kinda bad for first thing in the morning?"

"Maybe if I swish it around with some coffee I might be able to have enough energy until lunch." She said. "Let me go find some." And with that she stepped away.

"Akiko?" Hiroaki called out.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I'm here to pick up some Sobaboro. For after lunch break." He told me. We had been getting along pretty well but there was some strange disconnect, like he'd clamp up and not say anything anymore. I think it's what they called "Hermit Mode" maybe?

"But why not pick some up after lunch?" I asked him.

"I tried but someone always takes them all before I can get to it."

"That sucks." I told him. It was right then Akemi came back and noticed I was with Hiroaki.

"Oh hi Hiro." She said with a now relaxed tone. That was a new one. The three of us chatted for a while until Akemi and I went back to her room since she wasn't too keen on going inside the main building often. We sat their eating Pocky and mixing it with coffee, it wasn't as terrible as I imagined but I couldn't see myself doing it on a regular basis.

"Oh man, it's so good!" Akemi said in her cheery tone. "This really hits the spot, especially when I'm pulling all nighters on a set. The sugar helps my mind stay awake."

"So you do this on a daily basis?" I asked her.

"Of course." She said in her regal voice. But then, she seemed to relax again and went on talking. "As a popular actress I'm almost always busy."

"So how exactly did you become the 'Ultimate Actress'?" I inquired. I was interested in her personal life.

The actress gave a moment of thought before continuing in her relaxed tone. "Well, I have been in a handful of movies sure. But what really distinguishes my talent from the other teen actors in Japan is that I also do voice acting."

That must mean she does it for a specific genre... "So for anime and cartoons?" I replied.

"Yeah. That's why I change my expression often, they say it helps for acting." Who on this planet gives that kind of advice? "But it's nice to just take down the facade once in a while, ya know?"

"Akemi..." I found myself saying as she confided in me.

"I am still a person after all..." She seemed to be forlorn as she said that. "Hey... about what Monokuma told us... Do you believe it?"

"With that bear... anything's possible." Of course, I didn't WANT to believe it. But this was reality. He could've somehow been able to do it you know. And there was always a chance that it wasn't true, I guess in a sense I'm just trying to keep an open mind. Could he really take our memories? And is Group B in a worse state than we are? All these questions and no real way to answer them. My response didn't seem to make Akemi feel any better and she was starting to look a little depressed.

"If that's true... I wonder what became of my acting career..." She muttered, just barely audible. "One of the reasons I wanted to come here was to get away from show biz for a while. A little R&R... but what if I never went back!?" Akemi's voice was sounding a little desperate. I hadn't given it much thought because I'm not as famous as Akemi, but what did transpire over a year? Was my family safe? My friends, and just society in general? There was only one way to know for sure-

"-Dammit!" I shouted, realizing what was happening. Monokuma wanted us to think like this, he wanted us to become anxious about the outside world! So we could start killing each other. "Akemi, we can't think like this. It's just what Monokuma wants!"

"Huh?" She seemed surprised by my outburst.

"He wants us to think about the outside; to fuel our desire to escape. To start killing."

Akemi remained silent as I told her this. She seemed to be contemplating my words very carefully until she finally said, "You're right." With a glum expression. "I can't think like that... Thanks Akiko." She gave a soft smile. That smile was probably one of the most genuine smiles I had seen in a while upon coming here. Her smile, it seemed like nothing could be wrong in the world. Akemi's gentle smile must have made all her fans feel relaxed, it was almost bewitching in a way.

"No problem."

"No, really!" She shouted in her cheery version. "I was getting all depressed over that but now I feel motivated! You're an awesome friend!" Friend? Well, we all are technically classmates but friends? It makes me happy to know I've got someone who sees me as a friend. "Well, I want some time to myself. Is that okay?" She asked me. I gave her a nod and left her room in silence. As soon as I shut the door I heard a clank from the other side; Akemi must've locked it. Now what was I gonna do for the rest of the day?

The rest of the day seemed to drone on as usual, but I tried something I never considered. I went to the library in the main building to study a bit. I didn't wanna be considered dumb if we get out of here soon so I went to the library and there I saw Rei and Ikazuchi sharing a book. "Oh, Akiko." Rei called out to me as I approached the two. "What's going on?"

"I just wanted to study a bit..." I told her.

She gave me an expression of approval. "Very nice. I'm trying to teach Ikazuchi some basic math. Apparently he has a lot of remedial classes."

"Y-you didn't have to say all THAT..." Ikazuchi muttered with annoyance. "I'm just not all that smart..."

"And you wanted to improve?" I asked.

"Huh? Oh uh, yeah." Ikazuchi responded absentmindedly.

"Just because we're not taking classes doesn't mean we stop trying to learn." Rei said. I gave her a nod and we all sat together and studied. Before we knew it, it was close to six. Dinner was gonna be in an hour so we parted ways and went to go do whatever else before then. Because after dinner nighttime always seemed to catch up in what normally felt like a matter of seconds.

So it eventually became dinner and everyone filed into the room. Except for Akemi; again. "This girl..." Juku grumbled. He was always angry at something, and his figure kinda reminded me of a bear...

"She's probably just sleeping... again." Ikazuchi sighed.

"Whatever the case is we need to check on her." Makoto added, taking charge of the situation. "Akiko, Destiny and I will check in her room... Everyone else stay put."

"Hey, why me!?" Destiny shouted. She was clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "I can understand Akiko but-"

"It doesn't matter right now." Makoto said. She gave a motion for us to follow her and we rushed to get to her room door. "Akemi!" Makoto called while knocking on her door. We didn't get a response and that made my heart sink. If she wasn't in her room then where could she be? My mind was running wild until Makoto spoke up. "Her door is unlocked." She said. The stalwart "leader" of our group opened the door and we scanned the whole room. No Akemi at all. Everything had been left normally, except for one thing. One of the desk drawers was open. I dared to peer inside and found the survival kit had been opened...

Missing was the knife that was supposed to be inside. I let out a gasp which drew the other girls to me and they both realized the knife had been missing almost immediately. Destiny was beginning to panic. "Aw crap! Aw crap! This is bad, right?"

Makoto seemed to do her best to maintain her cool given the circumstances. "We can't draw conclusions just yet." She told us. "We have to find Akemi, that takes priority. Destiny, tell the others she's missing. Akiko and I will begin searching immediately."

"R-right." Destiny replied before taking off to the Dining Commons.

"Akiko." Makoto went on, catching my attention almost immediately. "We have to cover the campus grounds. She has to be somewhere." I gave her a nod and we both took off our separate ways to find where on earth Akemi disappeared. Everyone had scattered in a frenzy looking for her. I had been searching classroom after classroom within the main building. All remained untouched and undisturbed. Where the hell could she be!? I remembered her calm expression; it must have been rare for people to see that side of her. I just hope we find her alive and well. Of course, in games like these, hoping for something like that is virtually impossible.

"Akiko!" Shin's voice called out to me. He came running to me and had a look of dismay on his face. That wasn't a good sign.

"W-what?" I asked, concerned with what might have happened.

"We found Akemi." He stammered out, but he didn't seem relieved. "We have to go to the third floor!" I followed him into the hallway on the third floor and immediately froze. There was streaks of blood across the ground and some splattered on the walls. The crimson liquid now seemingly dry apparently, but still not Akemi. I looked to Shin with panic and anger at the same time.

"Hey, this better not be some kind of sick joke!" I told him.

"D-don't get your panties in a bunch!" Shin said, visibly nervous like myself. "This way...!" He forced himself to talk as we followed the streak all the way into the art room, and that's when things became gory.

From her boots to her face, Akemi had been coated in blood. An abundance around her chest and some even leaking from her head to her face. It have her pink hair an unwanted shade of red. She lay limp against a wall and her face had gone pale with an expression of anguish. The blood streak had gone right under her body along with the debris of what looked to be some kind of stone surrounding her body. Her hands had both a rose and a crumpled sheet of paper, both with a decent amount of blood coating it. The final thing I noticed right away was the discarded knife not too far from her body. "Akemi...!" I forced myself to shout out. I couldn't make any sounds other than that as I trembled in place. Someone did this...? Someone... killed Akemi!? I forced myself to check her arm for any kind of sign for life or anything really. Nothing. To my despair there was not a single sign of life. Akemi was truly dead.

"I couldn't believe it when I first saw her but... she really is..." The artist trailed off. He didn't want to say it, I didn't want to hear it. By saying that it would truly solidify the reality of this grotesque situation. Of course "he" showed up at the worst time.

"Would ya look at that?" Monokuma's irritating voice chimed in. "It finally happened! A murder! Yahoooooo!" He was unusually giddy for this reason. It made me angry that he was enthralled by something this chaotic. "Bwahahahaha!" He laughed like the villain he is.

The others began to file into the art room and looked on in absolute terror at Akemi's corpse and how Monokuma was unusually happy.

"Wh-wh-wh-whwhwhwhwh..." Miyako couldn't form a comprehensible sentence.

Akihiro and Izanagi put on Poker Faces' right away; Juku and Destiny were pissed beyond belief; and everyone else was at a loss for words to fit the situation. An announcement suddenly played almost immediately. " **A body has been discovered! A body has been discovered! In a few hours the class trial will begin. You may use this time however you like.** "

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (30)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - X  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou - Ultimate Connosseiur  
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai - Ultimate Hero**

* * *

 **Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. They're not technically an Ultimate if they're dead right?**


	4. Time to Investigate (A)

**Chapter 2** **: Time to Investigate (A)**

* * *

Akemi's once vivid personality had practically just gotten up and walked away. Her body was just an empty shell; our last memory of her. It was an absolute bloody mess. Not only did someone take the Ultimate Actress away from us, they also left it one hell of a mess. Okay, I know. I'm just finding reasons to nitpick at this point but it's all true. Akemi was one of the people here that I could safely call my friend. What did she do to deserve... this?

"Upupupu..." Monokuma chuckled with that sickening joyous yet villainous voice of his. "Finally..." He muttered.

"Look you sick fuck..." Juku practically growled. "What did you do!?"

"I did something?" Monokuma asked innocently. "Are you sure none of YOU did this!" He shouted it like a statement than a question.

"What!?" Shin snapped in bewilderment.

"I'm serious!" Monokuma said angrily. "This is a murder committed by one of the students; I had NOTHING to do with this!"

"You did..." I found myself saying automatically.

"Wuzzat?"

"You... you and your stupid motive!" I shouted at him. I was angry at this point. I wanted to take my frustration out on anyone, for the loss of my friend. I was gonna lunge at Monokuma but Shin (who had been conveniently standing next to me) held me back.

"Don't lose your head." He told me. I tried my best to regain my composure but it wasn't working with Monokuma around.

"Well, whatever." Atsushi brushed everyone else's shock off. He seemed unnaturally carefree about the entire situation. "I'm sure you've got something to give us, so why don't you just give it to us and let us get to investigating." For some reason, he was unusually giddy about the whole death thing. What is this guy's problem?

"Right right right." Monokuma nodded. "In your e-Handbooks I've prepared... The Monokuma File! A brief autopsy report on the dead body..." Was Akemi an it now? Just another lifeless thing in a room? "Have fun!" With that said, Monokuma just disappeared.

"As irritating as ever..." Akihiro said, voicing all of our opinions. "Whatever. We just gotta look around and stuff right? Okay then Monokuma, let your game begin."

"This isn't a game you know..." Hiroaki tried to argue. However Izanagi spoke up next.

"Are you certain?" He asked in a deadly serious voice. "This is, in fact, a game. One of survival..."

"How can you say that crap so calmly?" Destiny asked in a panic.

"It's quite simple." Izanagi went on. "We have clear opposing teams, one struggling to be the victor."

"Opposing... teams?" I repeated inquisitively.

"Oh, Akiko... how naive. I'm obviously referring to the "blackened" and the innocent of this case." Really? Could we justify this by saying it's a game, and all someone had to do is turn on everyone and kill? A game for survival?

"Again, whatever." Atsushi groaned again. "I swear everyone here just loves to hear themselves talk. I'm gonna go ahead and start now okay?"

"Wait a second." Ryota spoke up. "How can we be sure the killer won't alter the crime scene?"

"Are you suggesting someone be on guard duty?" Hotaru asked. Ryota nodded in confirmation. "Okay then, you do it."

"Huh, me?" Ryota was dumbfounded by her abrasive comment.

"But what if he's the killer...?" Miyako asked meekly.

"Then I'll be here too." Juku said. "There's no way two people could be responsible. Besides... I wouldn't be much help anyways."

"Okay." Atsushi was starting to get annoyed with all the excess, it was clear in his tone and face. "Let's just hurry. We don't have all day." I guess the moment of truth was approaching, and if I wanted to be of any help I had to start to. To avenge Akemi... to find her true killer!

 _Monokuma File 1_ _: Victim: Akemi Hanako. Time of death was estimated to be around 6:47 PM. The victim has suffered a major head wound and heavy stab wounds to the abdomen. Other wounds consist of bruises and cuts along her face and arms. And finally, a sprained ankle._

That's it? Honestly, that didn't answer anything. And it doesn't clarify what the cause of death was... oh well. Looks like I'm on my own here. First I went to the body to confirm all the injuries listed in the Monokuma File. "Sorry for the intrusion." I told the body that was once Akemi. I gave her head a quick glance and... yup. There were definitely bruises and an opening in her head where the blood was coming out. It was unnerving but I had to stay strong. I checked her torso and a wound from what I could only imagine to be from a knife. And finally, I looked inside her boot and found her ankle to be swollen. All the major injuries seemed to be on the spot. I noticed that there was something... silvery on her boot. Was it... paint? I touched the strange inconsistency with her platform boots and it definitely seemed to be a paint. Still wet after about two hours I guess. What paint stays wet all day?

"Akiko." Shin called to me. "You're going over the body?"

"Um... yeah." I told him softly.

"Can you step aside for a moment?" He asked me. I nodded and he took my spot in front of her body. The discarded hunting knife now in his hand. He looked from Akemi to the knife. Back to Akemi, then the knife. He kept this repetitive process up for a moment before sighing. "Yup. This caused her stab wounds. There's at least three wounds."

"Three!? You can tell that?" I asked him in surprise.

"Of course. As an artist one of my talents is realism. I take exact measurements and exact everything basically. So I can tell just by eyeballing." Incredible. I should keep this report somewhere in the back of my mind. After talking with Shin my attention was brought to the debris scattered around her. There didn't seem to be any under her. I touched a piece and noticed there had been a layer of dust on the ground. It normally happens when you smash stone, but what stone was smashed? Maybe one of the statues or busts in the back? Could someone use this...? I checked Akemi's body, in particular, her hair. It had a similar powder on it. So the killer attacked her with a statue or bust and stabbed her with a knife... good to keep noted. But how did her ankle get busted up? And with what?

No doubt the knife came from a survival pack. Could it be...? I needed to talk to Makoto. She was out in the hall studying the blood streak that went all the way to Akemi's body. She seemed more dazed than actually concentrating. "Hey, Makoto."

"Oh. What's wrong?" She replied, somehow able to regain her composure easily.

"Well, you know the knife that was at the crime scene? Could it have been Akemi's?"

"You were thinking so too..." She said gently. "I had the same line of thought. Maybe she carried it for self-defense...?" Could that be the real reason? Next I looked down at the bloodstain. I noticed the floor had traces of mismatching gray but I paid it no mind. It went all the way to Akemi's body and there was something bothering me... I went back to her body and looked at her bloodied front. And when I looked at her back I noticed it was unusually clean... meaning she must've had to turn around while she was being dragged through her own blood. But, why two wounds? The next thing I did was examine the rose and note in her hands. As I did I noticed the hand with the rose has been coated in blood but no wounds were visible. I somehow managed to free the note from her death grip unscathed. I opened it and read it's contents. " _Meet me in Class 3-1 at 6:30 for a surprise._ " Did the killer write this? Also I noticed the note had a hole, and how there was a major fold like it had been folded in half. Was something attached? Class 3-1, that was my next destination. I saw Atsushi and Miyako in the classroom.

The desks themselves were disorganized. Unlike the other classrooms, some sort of struggle was obvious. The desks were out of line and a couple of turned over chairs. On the floor there was a spray painted metal pole with gaps in it, exposing a rusted interior. The gaps were about the size of someone's hand. "Someone might have been holding this..." I said. But how was it relevant?

"Have you noticed the blood on it yet?" Atsushi asked me, suddenly butting in the middle of my own thoughts. I looked at the pole again and noticed faint traces of blood along the pole, like it rolled in it maybe? I didn't get it. Atushi made no sense. I talked to Miyako and asked her if she found anything.

"Um..." She said. "The paint on the pole there doesn't stick well to the metal. So it peels right off, leaving a stain." I was getting deja vu. "And I found these..." She pointed to the trash can. Inside was a pair of work gloves. They were coated with the same silver as the pole with blood stains over it. Could the killer wear these gloves? "Also, I thought I saw Akemi walk in to the main building around 6:00... I know because I had been napping until then. I was taking a walk and saw them." Huh? Her note said... "And then three other people walked in. Atsushi, Ikazuchi, and Shin."

"All guys huh?" I asked her.

"Yeah but... I think Hiroaki told me Destiny and Rei had gone in also." I think this will be important to keep later. One last thing I had to confirm. I went to find Hotaru, who had been standing in the hallway away from the crime scene.

"Hotaru, what are you doing?" Akiko said.

"Oh, I don't want to get in anyone's way. So I'm just standing here." In other words, she was being lazy. "I'm not good with this stuff anyway."

"Okay. Did you know Akemi had a rose in her hand?"

"A rose you say..." Hotaru gave a moment to contemplate it. "Actually..."

"What? You know something?" I asked her.

"Earlier today I had left my room door unlocked when I went to lunch break with everyone. When I returned, my door had been opened widely and one of the flowers I brought with me went missing. A Carola to be precise." Now that I think about it, the flower in Akemi's hand did look like a Carola rose.

"Thank you for telling me- wait. Why DID you leave your room unlocked?"

"I didn't want the key to get lost so I left it on my desk. I just never lock the door." Again. Lazy. After all that, was I done? I decided to look back at Akemi's body one last time. Not to investigate, but to talk.

"Akemi..." I muttered. No matter how much I went back, nothing had changed. She'd still be dead. She'd be dead tomorrow. Then the next day she won't get up. Then the next. Then the next... It was sad, not just for Akemi, but for anyone who dies. You'll never be able to come back. Once you die, that's it... That reality began to sink in for me, after the longest time I realized death isn't just something that's gonna happen. It's a painful moment we'll all feel. I can't say for sure if you'll go somewhere... No, I can't be thinking too much like that. We gotta avenge Akemi by finding her real killer! Whoever did this killed a classmate in cold blood and that can't go unpunished! I went walking away with determination and saw Ikazuchi in the hall now.

"Akiko!?" He seemed surprised.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Oh, um. I'm looking for my gloves. I have a spare I'm wearing now but-" Ding dong ding. The announcement came on. "I-I'll tell ya later..." He seemed concerned about something, but took off before I could say anything.

" **Hey, this is Monokuma. I'm just gonna say everyone get down to the shuttle bus in the field. Getting kinda bored so... yeah. Let's get it started.** " The announcement was then cut off. Looks like we have no choice now. We all made our way to the shuttle outside, that's when I noticed it's now nighttime. The stars and moon were out right now and there was a quiet breeze in the air. However it did nothing to carry the heavy atmosphere around the fifteen of us. One of us was responsible for committing murder on one of our classmates. Monokuma appeared out of thin air and greeted us. "Why hello everyone! Aren't we all excited!?"

"Excited...?" Ikazuchi muttered.

"This isn't a game at all." Chou said. "There's no reason to be excited..." She seemed glum for some reason too. I knew that reason: doubt. We all had it within everyone. We couldn't bring ourselves to trust each other anymore.

"Well, whatever!" Monokuma whined. "Just get on the bus and we can truly start." With that said the door to the Shuttle opened and we all filed inside and sat in our own seats away from everyone. The bus closed and it began to move on it's own like it was remote controlled or automatic. Like Monokuma maybe? Whatever it was we moved beyond the restraints Makoto pointed out earlier in the week. We were introduced to dense foliage and a long bus ride. I used the time to contemplate and mull over my information.

 _-Monokuma_ _File 1_ _:_ _Victim: Akemi Hanako. Time of death was estimated to be around 6:47 PM. The victim has suffered a major head wound and heavy stab wounds to the abdomen. Other wounds consist of bruises and cuts along her face and arms. And finally, a sprained ankle._

 _- Akemi's Ankle: The victim had suffered from a hit to the ankle from something hard. There was a silvery paint on her ankle. It was still wet after a while._

 _- Shin's Analysis: Shin compared the stab wounds to the hunting knife that was laying around. Could the knife have been Akemi's?_

 _- Debris and Dust: There was an abundance of debris and dust on the ground around the victim. Some of the dust seems to have been stuck to the victim's hair. Was she attacked by something of stone?_

 _- Makoto's Account: She remembers seeing the knife from Akemi's survival pack had gone missing. Could the knife at the crime scene be the same?_

 _- Blood Streaks: The victim was seemingly dragged through blood face down, then turned around to lean on the wall._

 _- Note: The note says "Meet me in Class 3-1 at 6:30." It was probably used to lure out the victim. It was folded like a note before being crumpled up._

 _- Rose: The victim had this clutched in her hands. It definitely isn't something you can just find. Perhaps someone...?_

 _- Akemi's Hands: The victim's hands did have blood on them, but no injuries on them. The blood possibly came from somewhere else._

 _- Status of the Classroom: The classroom the note specified had been left in a state of disarray. A struggle must have taken place.  
_

 _- Metal Pole: A pole found in the classroom. It's unknown where it came from but it's covered in a cheap paint that peels off immediately, exposing it's true colors. Someone may have been gripping it. Also it seems to have rolled around in some blood, too?_

 _- Discarded Gloves: A pair of work gloves had been poorly disposed of in the trash can, showing signs of being used to hold the pole and possibly commit murder._

 _- Miyako's Account: Miyako claims to have seen the victim, and three others enter the school building. Shin, Atsushi, and Ikazuchi. Destiny and Rei were present in the building as well._

 _- Ikazuchi's Missing Things: Ikazuchi claims to have lost his gloves, whilst having a spare. Did someone steal them?_

That seemed to be everything I had. By now, the bus had reached what looked like a giant courtroom. No choice now as we climbed the stairs and Monokuma directed us to our assigned spots. I was at the spot opposing Monokuma's throne and Atsushi's spot. Going clockwise, it went myself, Ryota, Makoto, Akemi (A sign had been put in her place), Juku, Destiny, Izanagi, Atsushi, Miyako, Akihiro, Hotaru, Chou, Ikazuchi, Hiroaki, Shin until coming around back to myself. One of us killed Akemi... we had to uncover the truth or we all pay the price... this was gonna be a trial of lies, of truths. A trial where contradictions and fact become one, a trial that put Hope and Despair on the line... it's, a deadly class trial!

"Court now in session!" It exclaimed on a monitor above Monokuma's "throne".

(DAWN) "Let's start with a basic explanation of the class trail," Monokuma explained. "So your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunit" then I'll punish what will now be known as the *blackened*. But if you guess the wrong one... I'll punish everyone BESIDES the blackened! And that person will be granted permission to leave this school."

"H-how is that fair!?" Hotaru stammered in confusion.

"It's the rules of the game." Akihiro replied. "Winner takes all. No questions asked."

"Uh, earth to asshole!" Juku snapped. "This ain't a game at all!"

"I'd beg to differ." Akihiro shrugged off the larger boy's comment. "Need I go into explicit detail as to why, this is in fact, a game?"

"Pleeeeeaassee do!" Juku shouted, cracking his fists. "So I can get all the crap outta you!" No one really had a response for this at all. Finally someone spoke up.

"Let's just ignore them." Izanagi declared. "It's better to do that than to carry on pointless arguments any further."

"Somehow, you remind me of someone..." Chou added. "But um... more important things, right!" The gamer seemed to be raring to go. "We have to find out who killed Akemi!"

"Right. So, how do we go about doing it?" Ryota asked. "All you guys who did the looking and stuff should know, right?"

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything." Rei replied. "Just because we have knowledge, we won't know when and how to apply it. So if we can somehow get ideas forming we can start drawing the truth from that."

"Is it really that easy?" Destiny asked. Rei remained silent as she seemingly was pondering what to say.

So, this is where it really begins. I need to be ready to speak up when I have to. Or we all die...  
(-BREAK-) "I recommend we establish the common knowledge." Rei declared. "Like what happened and who was the victim."

"Very well. The victim for this case was none other than Akemi Hanako! According to the Monokuma File... she suffered two fatal injuries!" Makoto declared.

"We know that part." Ikazuchi grumbled. "But what went down exactly?"

"Well one thing is certain..." Hotaru went on. "She was taken by surprise in the art room. How else would she have gotten there?"

"No, that's wrong." I told everyone as I put up an argument. All attention was on me now...

(SOLAR) I proceeded to say my reasoning. "There's no way the crime could've started in the art room."

"Why not?" Hotaru asked.

"Well, I have several pieces of evidence. First it starts with the status of Akemi's body. Notice how there's blood covering the front half of her body, but not the back. This is only because she had been dragged through blood... And the blood that she was dragged through left streaks on the floor from the hall."

"Oh, you noticed a tiny detail like that?" Hotaru asked, amazed with my deductive reasoning. "To be honest, I didn't do much investigating myself. Dead bodies terrify me..." Then why did she try and participate in the debates anyway?

"Anyway, there's something else that makes me think that the attack never started in the art room." I went on.

"Is it evidence suggesting how it happened in the hall?" Miyako asked.

"No. It didn't even start in the hallway." I told her. I pulled up an image of the note Akemi had on her body and presented it on my e-Handbook. "This note was in her hand." ' _"Meet me in Class 3-1 at 6:30."_ '

"So the attack started in 3-1?" Shin asked.

"I think so... because of the state of the room, it can be assumed a struggle happened."

(DAWN) Ikazuchi then gave a sigh. "Okay okay... so we now know that it happened in 3-1. What good is that gonna do us?"

"Actually, it did plenty." Akihiro chuckled.

"Mind explaining for the less academically inclined?" Ryota suggested.

Akihiro gave a sigh of annoyance. "Very well. Since some of you clearly lack common sense, I guess I have no choice... Akiko, Rei. Since you can translate this "convoluted" reasoning better than I can, I leave it to you."

"Seriously?" I sighed. "Well um... you see..." I wasn't doing to good in explaining it. My brain just wasn't cooperating due to being singled out, I hated being in the spotlight.

"Each of the small steps get us closer to the full truth." Rei said, with a soft smile on her face. "So, by taking it piece by piece we'll eventually see the full truth. You just have to tough it out, okay?"

"Y-yes Ms. Naoko!" Ikazuchi saluted. Rei seemed to have some kind of affect on him, huh... But she's right, we have to find the full truth. And the best way we can do that is by taking this piece by piece...

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (30)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - X  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou - Ultimate Connosseiur  
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai - Ultimate Hero**

* * *

 **Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. They're not technically an Ultimate if they're dead right?**

 **So that ends the investigation for Group A! Unfortunately, we're all out of time. The rest of their trial will be put up at a bear-y later date, bwahaha...! Aw, what's wrong? Feeling the despair of not finishing the very first class trial!? I'd be to, if I didn't already know who did it.**


	5. Trapped (B)

**Chapter 1** **: Trapped (B)**

* * *

First, we discover we're trapped in a deadly "game" with no normal way to escape. Then, after we refuse to abide by the "game"'s rules, we're threatened to be killed the way Ms. Kirigiri was... I don't understand any of this. It made me sick to refer to any of this as a game; it was just human trafficking in a way. He somehow got us all together, then did something to us. And some people from the "Future Foundation" had probably tried to save us but wound up as victims too. None of us deserved this...! "Damn it..." I muttered under my breath. After guiding Chidori to her room for the night, I locked myself in my room. I didn't want to face the others any longer than I had to. I was scared... Scared someone would kill me if I said something out of line or if they got desperate and would come after me. There wasn't anything remarkable about me so whether I lived or died in this doesn't matter... In here, it was encouraged to commit murder.

I lay in my bed, the tears momentarily stopping as I brought Chidori to her room, only to start again when I was alone. I lied on my bed, holding my knees to my chest. I must look like quite a wimp, or at least I thought so... I don't know when or how it happened but eventually my eyes closed and I drifted to sleep. I may have been sleeping but my mind was very awake. I was... seeing something I guess... but it was hazy and felt distant. I don't even remember what I saw. The only thing I could remember was the feeling. How would I describe it...? I guess, you could call it a sense of yearning; longing for whatever it was I saw. But I woke up feeling like that. It kept ebbing me at the back of my mind, that sense of want. I wanted to go back...

...? Go back? To where? I guess I had dreamed about home... my family and friends. I wondered how they were doing. They were probably enjoying life, and forgot all about me... It happened before. No, but what else could I do?

Ding dong ding! Then HIS voice rang out over the announcements. " **Good Morning Everyone! Get ready to greet another beee-yutiful day! Breakfast is served in the Dining Commons so if you're hungry I recommend a hearty meal~!** " Even hearing his voice, I could feel the pit in my stomach only deepen. But, he wasn't wrong. I was hungry since I didn't have anything to eat yesterday. I might as well go and see if he's being honest and won't try to poison the food. I forced myself to get out of the room on account of my rumbling stomach and made my way to the Dining Commons. Luckily, after Monokuma's "presentation", we all looked around the enclosed campus space and got a good feel of where everything was. There was a school building where classes were probably going to be until Monokuma took control, Dining commons for meals Monokuma would apparently provide, a campus store filled with a wide variety of supplies, the gym and our dorms. Nothing too noteworthy based on those facts alone.

When I entered the Dining Commons only one person was present. "Chidori..." I found myself saying out loud.

"Oh, hello." Chidori replied. She seemed bummed about what happened yesterday.

"Are you gonna be okay?" I forced myself to ask. I didn't want to talk at all, but Chidori seemed to need someone.

"...I don't know..." Chidori sighed. "I can't cry anymore though so I stopped... then when Monokuma said there'd be breakfast I decided to see. He's not lying. It's buffet style..." I looked around and confirmed a lot of typical breakfast foods laid out. There was an abundance of food set about and it looked more edible than I could imagine. Did that stupid bear or whoever's controlling him make this? Chidori and I sat alone in the Dining Commons in silence for a few minutes slowly eating some food and then doors came bursting open. Almost all the guys came in rowdy as hell, oddly enough Tatsuya and Shigeo weren't present and Saburo still had that silent and blank expression on his face.

"Geez, it's like a cemetery in here or something!" Yoichi laughed, probably a little to hard.

"I agree!" Yukio exclaimed. Why were they happy? Were they coping differently? If so, then people are more different than I imagined...

"Hajime!" Kazuhiro shouted.

"Just Jay please...!" Why wasn't anybody listening to that simple request!? "You know what, if you're going to call me by a full name then call me by my last name..."

"Okay. Kazuki!" The Ultimate Heir was shouting. "Isn't it such a beautiful day!?"

"...huh...?" I muttered.

"He said, isn't it beautiful today!?" Masato laughed. What the hell had gotten into the four of them?

"Uh, are you alright...?" Chidori asked, mortified by their cheeriness.

"Never better." Yukio replied with a grin.

"B-but... the person we watched yesterday-"

"-Fake!" Yukio cried.

"What are you talking about!?" I shouted at him, probably with more irritation than necessary.

"That whole "execution" thing was totally fake." Yoichi laughed. "You actually think Monokuma can kill someone like THAT? That's totally unreal!" I half expected him to say gnarly any time due to his laid-back comment.

"Yep. Looking at all the facts there's no way she was truly killed!" Masato told us. "It just feels illogical, yeah?" The other three guys nodded while Saburo remained silent. He stood by his brother's side through all of this.

"I swear..." I sighed in annoyance. I don't know why I was so bothered. "If you guys were being any more laid-back you'd all be comatose!" With a huff I stormed off. Without really thinking I went off in any random direction, away from their laughter. Why did they not think it was serious? We could all be killed by someone who would take this seriously. I ran into the school building and sat in a classroom alone to calm down. I got all my thoughts in order and slowly calmed down. Maybe they're right. It might have been fake. But I was still worried because others might take Monokuma seriously. Seeing as I had a lot of spare time, I decided to wander the inside of the school building. As I wandered, I felt guilty about yelling at them; they were probably just as anxious as I was and were just trying to hide that anxiety by laughing it off. I felt like a terrible person now...

I had wandered onto the second floor somehow and found a library. Maybe a book will get my mind off of this. Inside I was baffled by all the genres they had, even they had sub topics as well. What library even has these topics? Adventure, Humor, Fantasy, Romance, Horror etc... They even had some school books for studying. I grabbed a fantasy novel and started reading. I flipped through each page intricately and became enraptured, guess I'm a fantasy guy. I lost track of any sense of time as I became more and more interested in what the author was portraying in my mind. All that was there for the author was H.H. Whatever that meant.

The announcement for lunch rang out through the library so I put the book down and wandered to the Dining Commons. When I walked inside I had the sudden urge to leave as I bore witness to two people were arguing. "What did you just call me!?" Emiko shouted in irritation. Natsuko simply turned and then said,

"You're an egotistical bitch who's more concerned about what her daddy's gonna buy her rather than the task at hand." Natsuko replied harshly. "Honestly, all you've done is complain about how your father hasn't sent anyone to save you, rather than focusing on what we could be doing instead!"

"And what exactly gives you the right to say that!?" The Fashionista blurted. "So what if I complain about my dad? He needs to get anyone here as quickly as possible! I'm not gonna kill anybody just cuz some dumb toy says we have to!"

Emiko's response seemed to get Natsuko tongue-tied as she was now stammering. They were the only two in the Dining Commons so no one was there to intervene except for me. I didn't want this escalating any more so I blurted out "Hey guys, er... ladies..." Their attention snapped to me in a heartbeat and I almost felt my blood run cold as the glares they were giving me pierced my confidence. "D-don't you think you're getting a bit um... intense?" I tried to talk to them as clearly as possible but I was fairly nervous about it.

"Tch..." Emiko scoffed. "I wasn't going to..." Her eyes darted to Natsuko who immediately took offense to it. Crap, I think I only made things worse!

"What is the meaning of the extra bitterness in a savory class such as ours?" Shigeo cut in as he walked in as well. "I can understand tensions are high due to certain individuals..." He must've been talking about Monokuma. "However does that mean we have to abide by his rules from the other day?" I wanted to argue that the bear could kill someone at anytime just because he felt like doing it or because they broke a simple rule. I remember when the first killing game was televised he killed Junko Enoshima in a heartbeat. However, it got more messed up as it wasn't Junko the Fashionista but Mukuro Ikusaba, her twin sister. At first I couldn't wrap my head as to how they could be twins but someone explained to me that it was possible they were 'Fraternal' twins and not identical twins.

"...Sorry." Natsuko apologized with a bow. "It just bothers me that Kamiko always complains about her father..."

"Fine. I'm sorry too." Emiko sighed.

I wasn't paying attention anymore as my mind went in circles trying to understand why I thought of Junko/Mukuro (whoever you want to call her) first. Wasn't it that Pop Sensation, Sayaka Maizono, who died first? "Hajime," Shigeo addressed me.

"How many times do I need to repeat myself?" I sighed as I was snapped back to the current moment at hand.

Shigeo sighed and just said. "It's informal to address a peer you just met with a nickname. I was raised with a proper upbringing, so using such shortened names was viewed as disrespectful unless you were "friends". So I'm sorry if I offend you."

"I grew up with similar ideals." Natsuko added. "Which is why I address everyone with their last name."

"N-no. It's my fault, I should've asked..." I told him. "I'm just not a fan of my first name is all..."

"Well, I don't know how to remedy that situation." Shigeo admitted. "But for now, I hope you bear with me." I gave him a nod. "Good. But, are you alright?" He asked, changing the subject entirely.

"Huh?"

"You seemed distant for a moment." He pointed out, "Almost like your palette went blank."

"Oh, no I'm okay." I told him and gave my best smile. I forced it a little but I was doing alright overall.

"If you insist. Anyway, I'm off to try this second course. The breakfast was delicious however..." He trailed off. I almost forgot he was the Ultimate Connoisseur, so his references to foods and tastes made sense for him. He went on a rant to rate the food before grabbing a large plate full of food made most likely by Monokuma. The others began to wander in and they sat down, forming cliques like most normal high school students did. You had your rowdy guys which consisted of Yukio (who seemed to be the head of the clique) Yoichi, Masato, and Kazuhiro. You had the pompous teenagers who included Emiko, Shigeo (surprisingly) and Yukino because of her status as a Doctor I guess. Next we had the group no one understood was together but they were anyway with Kohaku, Natsuko, Amaya and Shinju. Meanwhile myself, Chidori, Tatsuya, and Saburo sat together simply because we didn't have a clique we fit in. It was silent around us while everyone else chattered away like everything was normal.

"It's strange..." Chidori spoke up after a moment of silence. "It's kind of like what we saw yesterday didn't happen. Doesn't it feel like that?" She had a point. Everyone seemed to be oblivious to the fact of death. Especially when it could happen to them. Whenever I think about that stuff I normally get scared of my own mortality so I don't know what other people think.

"Everyone copes differently." Tatsuya said with his rough voice. "It's just a natural thing to pretend that things like that don't happen. I think we're not like them because we don't deny the reality of what we witnessed yesterday."

"Woah, deep..." I mumbled in awe at his words.

"Really?" Tatsuya seemed shocked.

"I mean, yeah... now that you mentioned it, I realized some of us didn't acknowledge the fact that what we saw was death." I went on. "It's not so much who died that I've been thinking about... but how and why. It made me realize that it's my own human life that's just as vulnerable too... I must sound pretty weak now too..." I tried to laugh off my little speech as nothing important.

"Even more deep." Chidori chuckled, trying her best to smile. I could still feel her unease about the situation however. "I'm feeling kinda the same I guess..."

Lunch went by with us, with the exception of Saburo, just stating our true feelings but not truly elaborating on them. After the period ended, we went our separate ways. I debated on whether to return to the library or not but decided against it since I remembered the door that wouldn't open. After returning to my room, I tested the door again and like last time it refused to open. "Great, is there some kind of trick to opening it?"

"You're darn right there is!" Monokuma exclaimed, bursting from right behind me.

"H-how did you get in here...?" I gasped out as I felt my heart almost stop. I did my best to recapture my breath but it wasn't easy with Monokuma in the room.

"Would you believe me if I said I used magic?" He asked mischievously.

"Hell no!" I told him.

"Well, that's not what happened. You were careless and left your door open." He responded. Oh, I guess it's my fault. "Anyway, I didn't come here to belittle whatever common sense you have left. I came to help you work around this glitch."

"'Glitch'?" I repeated inquisitively.

"That's right!" Monokuma said. "Your door wasn't created like the others, so it's what I like to call a little glitchy. The door doesn't fit into the frame quite right so all you have to do is lift and turn the door as you turn the knob." I did as he told me to and it worked like a charm. A little too well to be honest. "Well, I'm done here for now. Happy killings!" He wished me farewell in a twisted fashion and went off somewhere. I shut the door in a heartbeat and locked it. That was weird, if not scary to say the least. I looked into my bathroom and noticed it was clean and pristine since I imagined no one's used it yet. Spooky how he showed up at that moment, like he was waiting to 'help' me. I shuddered as I imagined him putting the faulty door there on purpose just so he could bother me. Someone then knocked on my front door.

Worried it was Monokuma I approached it hesitantly and asked "Who's there!?"

"It's Yukio." The familiar voice answered. I opened the door and Yukio invited himself in. "You busy?"

"Um, not really?" I asked rather than answered.

"Great!" Yukio exclaimed. "Make sure to read this." He said. The boy handed me a slip of paper and took off somewhere else. What a strange guy. He had handed me what seemed to be a folded piece of paper. I opened it and it said "At Dinner, sit at your nameplate."

Nameplates? Since when do we have those in the Dining Commons? I know we have them on our rooms but I wasn't aware we had some in the Dining Commons. Unless, they're coming up with crazy inventions with tools from the Campus Store. I shuddered at the thought of them working on a project together and what it would turn into. Maybe it could be good, maybe not? Now it was stuck in my brain and all kinds of imagery of their projects scared me for some inexplicable reason. A new type of dread washed over me, but in a comical sense. Not like the feelings Monokuma gives me when I get worried, but more like if this were a traditional high school. I couldn't help but laugh a bit at my unease, I was just being ridiculous. In any case, after sitting in the library for several hours and almost having a heart attack from Monokuma, I decided to take a nap before dinner time. So, feeling a bit more at ease with the situation (don't really understand how), I was able to rest somewhat comfortably.

I was roused awake from Monokuma's dinner time announcement. Those announcements were so obnoxiously loud and irritating with his voice. Regardless, I forced myself out of bed and made my way to the Dining Commons. Only a few people were present: myself, Natsuko, Saburo without Yoichi, Tatsuya and Chidori. To my surprise, Chidori was one of the first few of us present. "Chidori?" I called to her.

"Oh, Kazuki." She said. So we're on a last name basis, I guess.

"I'm surprised you're early." I told her.

"Well, I figured moping around about Ms. Kirigiri's death won't solve anything..." Chidori replied. She cut right to the heart of the matter I guess. "So, I'm gonna do what I can to not cry so hard. If anyone else were to die, I'd be very sad. But, I'm gonna hold back those tears and support the others." She gave me a gaze with some kind of fierce determination in her eyes. She seemed very serious about all this.

However, Natsuko broke in with grim words. "We'll see how long you can last with that attitude..." She explained. "There might be someone who takes Monokuma seriously, and at that drop of a hat... they'd kill. This is the only truth." She sounded dead serious on this little thesis she told the few of us who were early. The air felt heavy and everything began to grow silent. Was that really true? Could we not trust others to not take Monokuma seriously? I took him seriously, but I'd never kill someone because I'm sad. I wish I could've told her that, but my mouth refused to move. My lips were quivering slightly as I wanted to speak but was too afraid to. Damn, if only...

"So?" Saburo asked, in his unnatural deep voice. He sounded like a grown man and his body type and facial hair doesn't lie. He closed his eyes and didn't bother to face any of us. In fact, this is the most I've heard him talk. "There's only one thing to do in a crisis like that. Survive." Somehow, he sounded even more serious than Natsuko was. Like he was dead set on living through to almost any end.

"He's right." Chidori chimed in. "I don't know how to put it but... surviving is really important. Like in some of the anime I used to watch, surviving was important." How insightful, Chidori.

"Did you say you watch anime?" Amaya chimed in as she couldn't have timed her arrival with Yukio and his squad any better. "I love anime! Especially when collectibles come out! Some might even call me an Ultimate Otaku..."

"But that isn't your talent." Tatsuya added with a bit of bewilderment.

Amaya laughed nervously while she rubbed the back of her head. "It was a joke."

"Forgive me... I should've realized sooner." Tatsuya sighed, now disappointed in himself. Was he being... bashful? Everything I thought I knew about these people suddenly got flipped a full 180.

"I'm so glad you guys are thinking positively now." Yukio said. "I know the past couple hours were oppressive and we all needed time to cope..." He looked to Chidori and I while he said that. Subtle must not be in his vocabulary. "So, in order to bring us all together as a class I figured we try and eat dinner at the same table."

"Also, no need to fear." Masato butted in nosily. "I did numerous calculations and ran through all probable outcomes, and the chances of someone dying are almost 0%." It may have sounded cool to Masato but, to me and probably whoever else was listening, it was just mundane. But coming from the Ultimate Mathematician, it sounded promising.

"Now we just wait for the others so I can say it again!" Yukio said. I expected him to be unusually peppy from the second I laid eyes on him. I was proven correct. Eventually, everyone else did enter the Dining Commons within the hour and we all stood around Yukio as he ranted on about staying positive. It would be inspirational if it didn't sound so cliched. In my opinion, Saburo's comment was much better than Yukio's winded speech. But, in Yukio's clique, they loved it and were eating it up. The rest of us were confused, watched on in disgust, or weren't listening. "...So, that's why I set up nameplates for everyone to give us all the chance to be happy." I swear, being blindly cheery must be contagious for his group as they all whooped like animals.

"Ugh, s-so much noise..." Kohaku muttered. She then gasped and chuckled as she began to mutter indecent things to herself. I heard them, but it's better if you didn't know. I'm nothing against boy's love, but she took it several steps farther and- Okay! Stop talking now, Jay!

"So, everyone grab what you're gonna eat and sit where you're assigned seat is!" He screamed enthusiastically. One way or another, we all decided 'Why the hell not?' and sat down. I was seated between Shinju, the instrumentalist I knew literally nothing about, and Shigeo. The guy who is good at eating food I guess. Shigeo was seated at the end closest to the door while Yukio sat adjacent from him. The remaining thirteen of us seated somewhere in between. There was a long awkward silence as we picked at our food and ate slowly, waiting for someone to say something. Unfortunately someone did say something. The only one not wasting any time is Shigeo who was wolfing down meal after meal. For a person of refined taste he sure could eat.

"This is lame." Emiko sighed. "What was your plan for this?"

Yukio gave a 'Hmm...' before saying "Well, I was hoping one of you could start talking." A groan escaped Yukino's mouth as she was disappointed.

"Honestly... don't waste our time if you have no value or plan for doing so." She spoke everyone's thoughts with exasperation. "So unless you have a reason for us to stay, then I'm leaving."

"As am I." Natsuko added. Others seemed to follow this statement with grunts of disapproval. Yukio seemed to lose his cool and start to look bummed.

"You don't have to say mean stuff..." He said, tears in his eyes. Oh crap, was he gonna cry!? I didn't want him to cry so I just blurted something without thinking.

"I'll stay here with you." That came out wrong on so many levels, as I noticed Kohaku begin to blush and breathe heavily while she muttered to herself. Others looked at me with shock or sly grins. I regretted saying that. Me and my impulses...

"Jay..." He mumbled. He than began to laugh in a heartbeat. This guy...! "You're such a good guy! Just like my bros!"

His 'bros' all whooped in their own way again. Shit, did I just join a cult?

"Stop that!" Shinju cried. "My ears are bleeding at your discord!"

"If that keeps up I'm going to have to leave." Shigeo said as he began to stand up placing a napkin of his many food remnants.

"Don't go, the party just started getting interesting. Thanks to Jay at least!" Yukio chuckled.

As he began to stand, an expression of shock overtook Shigeo's face. He froze in place, only trembling slightly.

"What's the matter this time?" Emiko groaned, tired of that squad's shenanigans. He tried walking away and that's when I noticed it. His stomach was bleeding.

"Shigeo!" I cried as I leaped for the Ultimate Connoisseur without thinking. In an attempt to catch him we both fell to the ground. His body was pressed to mine and I could feel warm blood gushing from his stomach area onto mine. I wanted to throw up right then and there. Luckily I held it back but Shigeo wasn't lucky at all. He was wounded, pretty badly at that. I managed to finally get myself onto my knees, whilst soaked in another living humans blood mind you. When I did the others started screaming their heads off (save for Saburo who didn't overreact at all) and began to back away from the table and started shouting things like "The food is poisonous!" or just cursing like no tomorrow. I couldn't do anything but watch in horror as Shigeo was bleeding right in front of me, in my arms no less.

"It... hurts..." He gurgled out. He clutched his stomach and trembled. "My... stomach..." He seemed to be distraught from the fact he had been injured in that area, or at least I assume so since that's where the blood was pouring from. It was like sitting and being part of a gore fest. I was still queasy and felt entirely disgusted as to what played out before me. "So...meone... help me..." He pleaded, only to have blood streaming from his mouth and he went stiff.

"Shigeo...!" I gasped out, suddenly thinking I'm a doctor but only using common sense, and I checked for a pulse at his neck. None. Shigeo was now dead. Mortified was the best reaction I could think of. His stare was blank as his mouth was left ajar, his torso and mouth were bloody from some kind of injury and his body was starting to tense up. All the while, his blood had stained my white hoodie with splotches of red and pink.

"Toshiko." Saburo suddenly said, like he was attempting to take command of the situation. "Take care of doing a thorough examination of the body."

"An autopsy?" Yukino asked. "A-alright..." She was doing her best to regain her composure but her voice easily betrayed her.

"Yukimura, take care of Kazuki." He then turned to Chidori and she nodded, almost as mortified as I was. It took quite a bit of strength, but she and Yukino eventually pried me away from Shigeo's corpse. I didn't want to let go of that body. Because this was another person I knew, who wound up dead now. Chidori never left my side and held my shoulder, I could feel her hand trembling. She was scared again, but doing what she could to hide the tears...

An announcement rang throughout the Campus. " **A dead body has been discovered. Students have several hours to investigate before the class trial begins!** "

As if on cue, Monokuma rose from what I wanted to believe was hell itself. "Well, it finally looks like one of you did it..."

"Did what...?" Amaya asked, clearly nervous about the context.

"You know. Become the Blackened." He went on nonchalantly. One of our classmates... is now a killer!? "Finally! The game can begin!"

"You..." Yukio stated darkly.

"Me?" Monokuma asked, genuinely confused. Yukio was silent for a moment before finally shouting something I never would have imagined.

"You... SON OF A BITCH! ONE OF OUR FRIENDS IS DEAD!"

"So?" Monokuma inquired.

"You should care because it's all your fault, dammit! You killed Shigeo!" Yukio cried.

"Nuh uh." Monokuma chuckled. "This was one of you guys at work. I am proud of the blackened this time, I have to say."

"BULLSHIT!" Yukio seemed furious now. "LIKE ANY OF US WOULD DO THAT!?" Kazuhiro and Yoichi anticipated what he would do next but were too slow to react. In a blur, Yukio pounced on Monokuma!

"Yuudai, don't!" Saburo tried to warn him with a bit more of a serious tone but it was too late. Yukio was punching Monokuma repeatedly. Over and over again. Those punches weren't doing much to Monokuma but I imagine they were annoying to the pilot of Monokuma.

"LIKE HELL I'LL BELIEVE ONE OF US KILLED HIM!" He cried at the top of his lungs.

Monokuma seemed relaxed about the whole thing and stated. "It's against the rules..."

"Huh?"

"...To assault your Headmaster." He said, deftly stopping any further attempts Yukio had wanted to do for punching.

"L-like I give a damn!"

"Rule breakers must be punished for their sins!" Monokuma was sounding deadly serious now. "Please, curse this sinner! Summoning spell, Daggers of Tyrfing!" In the blink of an eye, countless flurries of daggers that seemed to come from nowhere shot out and pierced Yukio's body!

He was now trembling as he attempted to stand back up. "W-what is.. this... f-feeling...?" He asked. It seemed the daggers were enough to cause bleeding, but not kill him yet.

"Upupupu..." Monokuma chuckled. "Did you believe you could 'save' others just because you were known as a 'hero'? Not even you are immune to despair."

"D-despair...? I-I don't... want-"

"-Goodbye." Monokuma said coldly as a final dagger swooped in and slashed across Yukio's throat. Blood spurted from his neck in the most horrific way possible and he fell to the ground on his back. Yukio was now dead.

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (28)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - X (Former Ultimate Actress)  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou - X (Former Ultimate Connosseiur)  
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai - X (Former Ultimate Hero)**

* * *

 **Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. Shout out to DashMaster48 for suggesting to include their talents. Just for the audience to remember**


	6. Will to Investigate (B)

**Chapter 2** **: Will to Investigate (B)**

* * *

First, Shigeo died right in my arms. Then, Yukio got "punished" by Monokuma and got himself killed without a second thought. There was chaos afterward when Monokuma gave us the "Monokuma File" or otherwise known as a brief autopsy report. I didn't bother to read it since I was paralyzed by trauma, so I wasn't sure how much help I could be. Saburo eventually took charge and stated Tatsuya and the panicking Yoichi were to guard the crime scene while everyone else could go do their own thing. Yukio's body was left alone on the floor; I couldn't face him without feeling sick. Chidori helped me walk to my room and Kazuhiro came along to "ensure I won't get injured" or something like that and offered to stand out the door. Meanwhile, Chidori and I were alone in my room, she sat me on my bed and began to pace around the room.

She seemed to be conflicted about what she should do. "First we should um... uh... no. We need to ahhhh..." She was panicking, trying to be a leader but failing. Was this girl really the "Ultimate Charisma"? "I got it! We need to get you cleaned up. So take off that hoodie and wash your hands." I refused to move, my body lost all will to obey my commands after experiencing that. The blood on my clothes and hands haunting me, stains that might never come out. "Kazuki." She said my name. I didn't bother to respond. "Kazuki!" She repeated, with a bit more agitation. Again, I refused to move. I felt broken, numb... Nothing that seemed logical could be made into action. "Kazuki, listen to me now!" She shouted as she yanked me off the bed and forced me to look right into her eyes. I could see they were watering but she was doing her best to hold back those tears. "We're all depressed and sad our friends died, okay!?" She kept shouting. "That doesn't give you the right to sit around and mope! I'm sure most of us are gonna try and solve this problem, together!" Chidori sounded determined to get me to say something, like she cared. Funny, right? "This is sick, I know... and it makes me sad. I just wanted to come to this school, not in this game."

"B-but..." I choked out at last. My hands were trembling. "There was nothing I could do to save him... And then Yukio died because I failed to think or do anything... I-I'm worthless..."

Chidori wiped her watery eyes and then looked at me with a dry annoyance. "You can't be serious." I was shocked by her statement as she kept going. "None of this is your fault. I'm positive you aren't the killer! More importantly, it was beyond your power. Monokuma was the one who killed Yukio and someone else killed Shigeo. So don't you dare think that any of this is your fault, understood?"

"Chidori, I..."

"Kazuki, listen. I have this weird faith you had nothing to do with this. And I hope I'm right about that. I need you to pull yourself together and prove your innocence and help the others find the truth." With that she left the room. I was left alone. How stupid can I be? I felt a sense of warmth return to my body as I finally forced myself to move. I changed my hoodie to a similar hoodie but this one was light gray and was my last clean one. I managed to get the blood off my hands, too. Now clean, but not truly clean, I had to make a decision. I then just told myself to grin and bear it, realizing that if we failed the class trial all our lives could come to an end. I made my way back to the Dining Commons where the initial murder took place and found only three people in the room: Tatsuya, Yoichi, and Yukino.

"Kazuki, are you okay?" Yukino asked me.

"Yes, Yukino. I think I'll manage." I told her.

"Jay, you're alright!" Yoichi exclaimed as he rushed over to me. "You had me worried, ya know!?"

"O-oh." I replied, with a mixture of bashfulness and discomfort. He was a little imposing sometimes and it has the potential to scare people badly. Lucky for him, I'm not one of those people. "Thanks." I told him. It made me feel relieved to know there were some who did concern over me, even if for a moment.

Now without a moment's hesitation, I finally opened my e-Handbook and read the Monokuma File carefully: _Victim: Shigeo Kyou. Time of death: 8:27 pm. The victim suffered a major wound to the lower abdomen and bled to death. No other wounds on the victim's_ _body_.

That's it? It told me what I already knew (Save for the time of course.) Reading that only upset me, but I wasn't going to be deterred from searching for clues. Maybe Yukino found something while investigating the body. It made me pause for a moment realizing what I just thought; Shigeo was just another corpse now. Nothing made him unique anymore. He was gone from this place now, hopefully somewhere better.

I shook myself out of that trance and started speaking with Yukino. "Hey, Yukino. Can I ask you a question?"

"It's about Shigeo's body, right?"

"Well... yeah."

"I already told Kunio, and he said not to share with anyone." The doctor replied.

"What!?" I looked over to Yoichi with an accusing glare.

"Hey, it wasn't me!" He pleaded in his defense. I had a feeling it was the other brother to say such a thing.

"But... I'm not taking any chances of withholding any knowledge so, I'll tell you what I found." Yukino spoke up.

"Wait, why?" I asked.

"Well, I should at least tell two people so that way the investigation isn't put into anyone's advantage." Good idea, so long as no one is working together that is. "Okay, so the Monokuma File is correct with it's autopsy but it's not very accurate. So I went ahead and confirmed some other things. For one, the specific location of the injury."

"Wait, you can tell that precise?"

"Yeah. I used to look at wounds all the time in camps that I helped on when I was younger. I guess you could say I picked up these skills while helping out..." Looking at wounds at a young age? That would scar most people for life regardless of any circumstances. I guess Yukino is different from others. "Anyway, the wound looks like it hit him in his intestine, not his stomach."

"I remember he said it was in his stomach..."

"It's common to confuse where all those organs are since it's all in the general vicinity. But the stomach is closer to the upper half of the torso whilst all the other major organs are in the lower half." Yukino went on.

"So, what caused the injury?" I asked her.

"Something had pierced his intestine. That's what caused the injury which led to him bleeding to death." She replied. "I would've taken the object out if I had the proper technique and materials but..."

"It's alright, you did what you could." I told her. I should keep her analysis in mind. There wasn't much else I could do for the body if the Ultimate Doctor couldn't solve any more than that. I decided to ask if Tatsuya saw anything noteworthy.

"Hey Tatsuya. Do you think you saw anything that might help us?" I asked him.

"Nothing worth mentioning..." Tatsuya trailed off. "Sorry."

"Don't worry. I didn't see anything either." I told him in an attempt to comfort him.

"Well then, let's keep an eye out." Tatsuya told me. Somehow I felt comforted in the end. But now I was out of leads and ideas... wait, maybe not. The injury caused a piercing, right? So, was he shot with something maybe? Or he could've been stabbed if someone somehow slipped something sharp into the food he was eating. There's a place in mind now that I think about it. "Seems like you have an idea?" Tatsuya commented.

"Huh?"

"Your face became pensive for a moment. So I just assumed..." The larger male mumbled timidly, feeling out of character once more.

"Well, you're right. I do have a few ideas." I told him and then went on my way, to the back of the Dining Commons. There was a lot of storage units most likely full of food. I saw Saburo in here as well next to what looked to be a tripod but instead of a camera, it was a pistol. "What is that?"

"The murder weapon." Saburo answered in his usual cool tone. How could he be able to keep his calm for this long and not show even a crack of an emotion? This guy was seriously strange. If I had to describe it, he seemed almost bored with the whole investigation. Not that I expected him to be excited or happy; that'd be truly insane.

"How do you know it's the murder weapon?" I asked him. He sighed and didn't say anything. Was that his equivalent of saying 'Do it yourself'? If so, then this guy was very cold. Well, since he wasn't willing to cooperate, I took a closer look at the tripod and pistol. The gun seemed like one you'd see in movies, like a prop. Except this weapon had actual bullets inside of it. The angle of the gun was weird too. It was tilted a certain way. Maybe the killer left it positioned like that? Why? I grabbed the pistol and examined it carefully. How were they able to fire it if we were all sitting in the Dining Commons? My hands were roaming the weapon in an attempt to understand it better. It seemed like a smart idea at the time. Before I realized what was happening my fingers went over the trigger and-

"-Don't!" Saburo knocked it out of my hand and it skid across the floor. Right when it made impact on the floor a bullet had been fired. Everything that happened next felt like an instant. I was shoved to the ground and I think Saburo was shielding me with his own body, I couldn't tell since I was distracted by a banging sound. It must've been the bullet from the gun bouncing around until it stopped somewhere further away. Once the silence settled in again the wait on top of my body lifted and I could see the white haired student again. "You didn't get injured, did you Kazuki?"

"N-no. I'm alright." I told him while he helped me up. He seemed to be... blushing? "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He told me, regaining his composure. He averted his gaze from mine. I couldn't tell why he was upset.

"So, what just happened?" I asked him, referring to the gun.

"The gun is defective." He told me. "It fires at the drop of a hat. Almost literally."

"Wait, so you don't need to pull the trigger?" That makes a bit of sense. But still, how did they fire it?

"Exactly. I think the killer realized this on their own, specifically when they got it." He went on. "Most likely this came from the Campus store."

"What makes you say that?"

"The insignia." He pointed to the gun and I saw that it had a Monokuma head on it. Good to know that.

"Okay but I have one last question. Why were you flustered for a moment?" I asked him.

He looked at me with a dead serious gaze. "Fine. Promise not to mention this to Mari. She'll be all over us if she knew."

"Knew what? And why would I bother telling Kohaku? This doesn't have anything to do with her."

"I did shield you from the bullet. Luckily neither of us were injured... but, your face..." He went silent again with his face becoming flustered.

"What about my face? Did something happen to it?" What was he getting at?

"It may have wound up between my..." He then motioned to his chest. Seriously? I know he has a defined and bulky body but it's not that embarrassing. It would've been worse if he was a girl. Either way, I wouldn't mind since he protected me.

"Oh. I don't mind. You did keep me safe after all." I beamed at him. That only seemed to make him even more flustered.

"N-not a word of this. To anyone." He demanded. This was the most expressive I've seen him. He must've been adamant about keeping something hidden, not just this incident. But I wasn't going to pry, so I just gave him my word and chose to forget this whole ordeal. After that... event, I had some decent clues now. First, the gun was definitely the weapon. It came from the Campus store, and is very sensitive to sudden movements. But the only question is how they were able to make it fire? Second, the killer must've known that someone would be sitting in that chair Shigeo was in, and he was just unlucky. Was their some kind of connection? And finally, Saburo was hiding something. But that didn't matter now. I noticed a slip of paper on the ground nearby and picked it up. Written on it was just some kind of chicken scratch and numbers I couldn't comprehend.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It looks like... math, maybe?" Saburo guessed. If it was math I could ask Masato if he knew anything. But where was he? I left the back room while Saburo stayed behind to look for more clues probably. Outside I considered my options of where he could be: the dorms, the main building, the gymnasium or the Campus store. I doubted he'd be in the gym considering his talent and relevance to the investigation. First I went by the campus store and saw Emiko, Chidori and Shinju wandering around inside. I approached the girls.

"What are you up to?" I asked them.

"We were just searching for clues in here." Shinju replied. "The killer must've gotten the weapon from somewhere, it might've been here."

"Actually, I think it was." I told them. I explained about what happened in the back of the Dining Commons, excluding the information Saburo wanted me to withhold, still not sure as to why but he did trust me so it'd be best to drop the subject matter entirely.

"Oh, so it might've come from here?" Emiko asked. "So, does that mean the killer grabbed their supplies from the firearms section?"

"It would explain some of the missing items." Chidori pointed out. "When I went over there earlier today, all the shelves were full. But when I went back, there was a space in the line of guns."

"Alright, that makes the most sense someone would take it and commit the crime with it. Thanks for that information. Just one last thing, have you seen Masato around?" I asked.

"I think he went to search the dorms with Kazuhiro." Shinju said. "You should check there if you're in a hurry."

"I will. Thanks."

"Ah- Kazuki. One last thing." Chidori said. "... Never mind. It can wait."

"Okay then. Let's do our best to find that killer!" I replied. She beamed at me and nodded. With all that said and done, I was on my way to the dorms. In the hall I only found Kazuhiro who had been standing in front of my room door. He seemed upset when he saw me. "Kazuhiro, what's wrong?" I asked him.

"D... did you do it?" He asked me.

"Do what?"

"Kill Shigeo?" He seemed angered when he had to explain it.

"What!? Why would you think that!?" I was now genuinely confused as to why he would accuse me.

"W-well, Masato and I were talking. And we were thinking you were suspicious because you were holding Shigeo when he died. So we went to your room to search for the bloodied hoodie you had. Maybe you left the weapon in there...!"

"I-I didn't kill anyone!" I told him. "And I don't have any weapons. Wait, how did you get in my room?"

"Monokuma let us in. He unlocked the door." He said. That damned bear. He can't be trusted for anything.

"Where's Masato?" I asked him.

"Searching your room, right now. You murderer!"

"H-hold on! I'm not the killer!" I tried to explain myself the best I could but Kazuhiro was undeterred with his accusations. Just then Masato stepped out the room and saw us both.

"Oh, hello Kazuki." He addressed me. "You're lucky. We didn't find anything incriminating against you in your room nor in any of your clothes."

"Huh?" Kazuhiro seemed baffled but I had other things on my mind.

"Masato, can you tell me about this?" I showed him the paper and he seemed confused.

"Where did you find this?" The mathematician asked me.

"In the backroom of the Dining Commons. Do you know what this means?"

He gave a 'hmm' as if in thought. He then told me. "I don't see it often, but that's like a code for serial numbers."

"Serial numbers?" Now I was the one confused.

"Serial numbers seemingly work on a random number generator, but in fact it's a complex equation. Particularly for collectibles and other items of that nature."

"So like, plush toys or figurines?" Masato nodded to answer my question.

"It seems like Amaya would know more about it than I would. You should try seeking her help."

"Okay, and where would that be?" I asked.

"Try the main building. I saw her wander in with Natsuko not too long ago." He told me. I nodded and headed for the main building as fast as my legs could carry me.

I wandered the main building aimlessly, searching for Amaya and Natsuko. I eventually found them in the library. "There you are!" I called to them.

"Huh? Kazuki?" Natsuko replied.

"What's up?" Amaya asked.

"Do you know anything about this?" I showed them the enigmatic equation. The two seemed puzzled.

"That's math, right?" Amaya pondered. "What does it mean?"

"I was told this has something to do with serial numbers. Specifically for collectibles."

"I wouldn't know anything about that." Amaya stated. "I am in love with collectibles but I despise math. I was never any good at it." Was it possible someone got it wrong here? Now what was this paper? "Anyways, we found a clue!"

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah, it might not be about this murder though..." She said, sounding disappointed. Then it wasn't a clue. She showed me a photo of some students in the Hope's Peak Academy uniform. Both were girls in a classroom, one had long pink hair that must've been dyed to look that way, and the other had orange-red hair tied up into two pigtails. They were looking happy in a classroom and behind them was a teacher at their desk. The teacher wasn't facing the camera and must've been working meticulously when this photo was taken. I only could recognize the girl with pink hair however.

"Is that... Akemi Hanako!?" I asked in surprise. Amaya seemed to light up at my question.

"Yes! I love her voice acting work in the reboot of 'Heretic Angel * Mochi Mochi Princess'!" Amaya was now ecstatic over the fact that she was reminded of anime. At least I think so. But she wasn't wrong. Akemi was very talented in various forms of media, including acting and voice acting. She always seemed upbeat whenever she would put on a role but I never met her. However, the fact that she was wearing the Hope's Peak uniform must've meant she would've been our classmate along with that other girl.

"She might've been our classmate, now that I think about it." I said out loud.

"Huh- seriously!? She must be a part of Group A then!" Amaya deduced. "After all, she isn't with us. And if what Monokuma said can be trusted, then she must be in Group A! I wonder what they're going through now..." She trailed off for a moment ranting to me about her thoughts on Akemi. It was nothing but praise. "Say, since you like her so much, why don't you hold onto her picture?"

"Huh, me?" I asked.

"Yeah, and if you find anymore you could start a photo collection of celebrities." Amaya said, hoping to inspire me to start a collection of my own.

"I-I might." I said, accepting the picture. If these are our classmates, then it'd make a lot of sense to keep track of this. It didn't seem relevant to keep this for this case, but important nonetheless. With no other leads I made my way back to the Dining Commons. I noticed Yoichi seemed to be looking at Yukio's corpse, now a bloody mess.

Yukio... He was killed because he punched Monokuma relentlessly. I didn't want to think this way, but it was kind of dumb to lunge at him. But, maybe to Yukio, it was bravery. To stand up against the opposing force to protect the rest of us survivors. "You miss him too?" I asked Yoichi.

"Y-yeah." Yoichi admitted softly. "He was like a leader for our little group. Sure, we were rowdy and maybe a little obnoxious... but Yukio made us feel like it was alright. He made us feel less depressed about our situation."

"He was trying." I said. "I know I was unfair, and I wish I knew him better now... But, what we can do now is find the killer!"

"Right. Saburo said something similar to me before he left somewhere else. To just focus on right now, all the other answers come later." Wow, that was deep for someone to say. "Although, you did seem to rile my brother up. Did something happen?"

"Nothing that I'm aware of." I replied.

"Don't mind him. Saburo's always been kinda shy around people." That must be it. He was probably shy that we touched. "And, I've been thinking. Maybe the killer planned everything?"

"How so?"

"Well, remember Yukio's note? We all were supposed to have dinner together. Maybe the killer took advantage of that and killed someone." Yoichi had a point I didn't consider. This all must've been planned way before the actual murder took place. Also, weren't the nameplates a factor for this party? I didn't want to suspect the dead, but Yukio's motives are now looking a bit suspicious. What happened here?

*Bing bong Bing*

" **Hey, I'm getting kind of bored right now, so why don't we get started with the Class Trial? I'll be waiting for you all at the Shuttle Bus.** "

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (28)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - X (Former Ultimate Actress)  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou -X (Former Ultimate Connosseiur)  
Ikazuchi Michi - Ultimate Electrician  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai -X (Former Ultimate Hero)**

* * *

 **Note: The deceased characters will have an "X" by their name if they're dead. They're not technically an Ultimate if they're dead right?**

 **So that ends the investigation for Group B! Unfortunately, we're all out of time. Will they find the killer? Or will the author sadistically kill everyone else?**


	7. Class Trial 1: A

**Chapter 3** **: In shining lights (A)**

 **(OST Tracks come from Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. Credit belongs to the game)**

* * *

(DAWN/ _Akiko_ ) Now all attention was on me. How was I gonna explain this? I need to explain what good knowing what went on in Room 3-1... "It could... probably be that..." I tried to say. All the bravado I had a moment prior left my body and now I was a sputtering mess. If I didn't form a coherent sentence soon I'll just look like a fool.

"Akiko." A voice that hadn't said anything since this trial began, addressed me. Atsushi. "I believe the reason you believe it's so important because it gives us an insight on what caused her injuries. Both the fatal and minor."

"Uh, yeah." I replied, dumbfounded at how seamlessly he pulled it off.

"Still not really getting the urgency of it all." Ikazuchi sighed.

"Well, if you remember anything from the Monokuma File, it left out one major piece of information. Does everyone get what I'm saying yet?" Atsushi asked calmly, his expression not changing slightly.

"You're referring to the murder weapon, correct?" Makoto inquired.

"Precisely." Atsushi confirmed with a bit of gusto. "Knowing that the attack started in the classroom then progressed itself into other areas, we can form assumptions. From those assumptions come the truth."

Juku seemed relieved at what Atsushi said. "For a some time, I thought you were a retarded nut. But as it turns out you're pretty smart!"

"You should really mind your tongue! You could say something really offensive!" Destiny retaliated.

"With that confusion out of the way, let's start getting further into this mess." Akihiro spoke up. "Just as Atsushi said, we can now easily explain the rest of these events. First, we know now that she was attacked in the classroom 3-1. I can also safely say that the murder weapon wasn't what had been laying on the ground by the body-"

(TURBULENT) "-What?" Shin asked.

"What stabbed her couldn't have been the knife. I imagine it was placed there as a diversion." Akihiro explained.

"That's impossible." Shin immediately argued. "It was the knife. I just know it was."

"How can you be so sure?" Akihiro retaliated. At this rate, they'd get nowhere.

"It's because I analyzed the scene myself...!" Shin shouted. "The knife matches the wounds on the victim's body!"

"What if I told you, I found something that fits smoother with the wound?" Akihiro insisted.

"As I keep saying, the weapon was the knife." Shin explained. "By measuring the knife and the number of wounds on her torso I was able to deduce that the knife was used to cause injury."

"Can anyone support this idea? Did someone examine it alongside you for example?" Akihiro inquired.

"Yes, Akiko did." Shin responded swiftly.

"It's true. We examined the knife together, and it's entirely possible the killer used that knife." I said.

(ODD) "Well, it seems you both got duped." Akihiro suddenly stated.

"What...!?" I asked in shock. Shin seemed to share the same level of shock but didn't say anything.

"But before I continue, can anyone tell me where this hunting knife came from? More specifically, had anyone seen it prior? Or something similar?" Akihiro asked. I don't know what he's playing at but he seemed confident in his ideas.

"Um... Should I know where this came from?" Hiroaki asked to no one in particular.

"I'm pretty sure we should but... nothing comes to mind." Hotaru answered.

"I think it came from the survival kit Monokuma gave us." Miyako said. "Of course, I'm just guessing... um..."

"You guessed correctly Miyako." Akihiro explained. "This knife's true origin is from someone's survival kit. Now the question is, who did it belong to?"

I took a second to think about who the knife belonged to. I then remembered something before we discovered Akemi's body. "It must've been Akemi's knife." I finally spoke up. "I remember when Destiny, Makoto, and I went looking for her. In her room the survival kit had been opened and the knife was missing. So if everything matches up with what we found at the crime scene then that knife came from her case."

"Very good." Akihiro commended me, but I wasn't sure if it was because I explained it properly or answered a question of his. Either way, he was moderately impressed. "Now then, the knife must have come from her kit."

"But why her kit?"Izanagi asked. "More importantly, how is it relevant to this mystery?"

Ikazuchi shrugged and said without thinking. "Maybe the killer just put it there to confuse us?"

"Exactly!" Akihiro answered. "The killer tried to fool us all by using a false weapon!"Could that really be what happened? I'm not sure of anything right now...!

"Okay, then what was the weapon that she was stabbed with?" Shin asked, not convinced of Akihiro's reasoning.

"Fine. It's up to me to explain everything then." Akihiro sighed. "It was simply used as a diversion. Whilst everyone else was distracted on that weapon, the initial weapon was disposed of. So none of us could find it even if we wanted to."

"... That doesn't sound right." I interjected. That only seemed to anger Akihiro.

"What did you just say!?" He exclaimed. "There is no way I'm wrong!" No, I'm sure there's a way he's wrong. In fact, we said it before.

(-BREAK-) "There's no doubt in my mind that the attacker used that weapon as a decoy!" Akihiro declared.

"How can you be so sure?" Chou asked.

"Simple intuition." He said. "That's all it takes."

"Do you have any evidence for that?" Shin asked.

"That's impossible."

"How would you know either way, then?" Shin went on.

"As I said before, it's my intuition. I'm positive there's no evidence to prove anything! That's why my intuition has to be relied on!"

"Technically, that's wrong." I interjected.

(SOLAR) "I do agree that there isn't any evidence to suggest the knife was used. However, there's none to say it wasn't." I said. "But if you listened to Shin earlier then you would've realized that the knife matches her wounds. Plus there was blood covering the knife. It's hard to argue anything else based on those assumptions."

"How can you trust him, though?" Akihiro asked, with a bit of annoyance.

"Because of my talent. My artist capabilities include sculpting and scaling, which is why I was able to accurately measure the wounds." Shin elaborated. "I'm neither a detective nor anything like that. Things like that come with the territory."

"I-I see..." Akihiro stuttered, for the first time. "I may have... acted rashly..."

"T-that's incredible...!" Miyako gasped. "Not only did Shin just confirm the knife, but also managing to shut up Akihiro..."

"Stop that."

"So, in short, you're saying she was attacked with the hunting knife?" Makoto asked, wanting to keep the debate on the proper track. Shin gave a confirmation by using a nod and a grunt. "While that is plausible considering the circumstances, what was used to cause her head injury? That should be our next question."

"Well," Rei began. "I think it was something in the art room. It's a bit of a logical lea, but my reasoning makes sense."

"So, what is your reasoning?" Hotaru inquired.

"First, I noticed that she had been attacked with something made of some sort of stone. When it smashed, it caused a dust cloud as it made impact with her head. Which is why a powdery layer is potent on her hair. Which also explains her injury."

"What WAS the object? Quit rambling and get on with it!" Juku demanded.

"Unfortunately, I couldn't divulge further since the timer was up by the time I discovered that. Does anyone else know?" Rei asked. "It would've had to have been in the room at the time. Convenient access for the killer, and strong enough to silence Akemi permanently."

"Silence?" Atsushi asked, more with intrigue like he knew something rather than genuine curiosity.

Something in the room at the time. If I remember correctly... "Could it have been... the marble Monokuma statues?"

"I was thinking the same thing." Rei replied. "I remember seeing them and not even marking them as noteworthy. They just seemed so trivial at the time..."

"Well, I don't blame you for that. There was a much larger elephant in the room..." Ikazuchi stated.

"What about the pillars these alleged statues had been standing on? Couldn't that have been what hurt her?" Izanagi questioned.

"I don't think it's too possible..." Ryota interrupted. "I remember, Shin asked me to help him carry those pillars every time he had to move them. They were exceptionally heavy, even with the two of us."

"Besides, it would've left too huge an injury if they used the pillar. Those things are exceptionally thick." Destiny pointed out. "It might've even taken her head clean off!"

"Also, as evidence to further Rei's thinking..." Shin spoke up. "I noticed that one of those statues was missing from the last time I was there."

"Why didn't you mention it during the investigation, then?" I asked.

"Like Rei said, it seemed trivial at the time." The artist stated.

"Hmm, how convenient." Ikazuchi stated. "You, an artist, leaving out such 'minor' details can only mean one thing... You're probably the killer!"

(TURBULENT) "Hmph. I've got nothing to hide." Shin said, crossing his arms defiantly. "I'm not the killer."

"Now that he mentions it..." Miyako said, "I'm positive I saw you enter the main building after her."

"That is true, but remember what you told me." I replied to Miyako. "You said that you also saw Atsushi and Ikazuchi enter the building. Not only that, but Hiroaki told you Destiny and Rei were also in the building. So if we're going to be going based on that assumption, then all five of them are suspicious!"

"I-I personally think it was Atsushi! The guy's totally weird anyway! Plus he's been super quiet during all of this!" Juku declared.

"I wouldn't call myself weird." Atsushi retorted. "But if you're going on suspicious behavior, Hiroaki is honestly suspicious. He's been even quieter than I have and he's been supplying some shady info."

"I-it wasn't me...!" Hiroaki stated. "Ikazuchi looks like the most suspicious guy to me... he started all this...!"

"I still think it was Shin..." Ikazuchi declared. "Besides, I don't want to die because of indecisiveness."

"Upupupu~. You guys are turning on each other. How delectable!" Monokuma taunted. I honestly forgot he was even in the room. "But remember, you have to decide on one person unanimously!"

"Actually, I don't remember that rule..." Chou stated. I almost forgot she was here too.

(DAWN) "Everyone just calm down." Makoto stated, absolutely calm and collected with the situation unfolding. "If we start passing blame onto one another, then we'll never find the culprit. We need to remain calm and work towards a solution."

"Makoto's right..." Ryota added. "We just need to stay calm and think. We'll just be playing right into Monokuma's hands- er... paws." They're right. Even in this situation right now, we have to remain calm. I just need to think through all the chaos and decide what to do.

(-HEAT UP-) "Well, we can calm down all we like..." Ikazuchi said. "But one of you is the killer."

"What makes you so sure it could be us?" Shin asked.

"I never saw Akemi when I went to the school building." The electrician stated.

"I didn't even go near the main building at all!" Hiroaki exclaimed.

"How did you know they went?" Akihiro inquired.

"Easy, we told him where we were going." Destiny pointed out.

"Besides, Miyako could be lying. None of us could've gone at all for that matter!" Ikazuchi insisted.

"No that's wrong!" I shouted.

(FUTURE) "Actually Ikazuchi, I know for a fact you went to the main building." I elaborated. "It's real easy cuz you told me."

"I did...?" He asked in shock.

"Yes. Remember, you'd been searching for something inside the building." I told him.

"Actually, I never said where I was looking for them... but yeah. I was searching the main building..." Ikazuchi admitted.

"Wait, then why were you trying to deny it earlier?"Juku asked with irritation. He balled his hand into a fist and shook it to emphasize his anger. "What kinda fucked up game you playing at!?"

"J-just take it easy m-man..." Ikazuchi said, trying to pacify the enraged Juku. "I'm just... not the killer... okay?"

(DAWN) "Whatever. Right now, what's bothering me most is the fact that both Shin and Atsushi still haven't spoken their alibis." Makoto pointed out. "So, what were you up to?"

"Fine I'll tell you. I was holed up in the art room for a majority of my time." Shin explained. "However, I had no part in the actress's murder. In fact, I most likely left mere moments before she died. Though I did see you Ikazuchi."

"Stop being inconsistent and tell us the first time!" Akihiro shouted, a vein practically bulging from his forehead.

"I went to the library. Didn't find anything good in there." Atsushi responded swiftly. Boy, those two don't waste any time. That makes things go by more smoothly, I guess...

"...So, what do we do now?" Hotaru asked. "Personally, I'm all out of ideas..." She crossed her arms and sighed in defeat.

"Wait a sec, you're just giving up?" Destiny asked, shocked by her actions.

"No. I'm just _stumped_... get it? Because trees..." Hotaru said, while attempting to hide a chuckle.

"God damn it..." Ryota muttered under his breath. "Looks like we got a real comedian in the house tonight people..."

"Honestly, is now a time for stupid word play?" Izanagi asked her. Hotaru and stupid jokes.

"Cut the crap, we're trying to solve a mystery here. Lest, you want to die with the rest of us?" Akihiro replied, now taking no bullshit from anyone. Something to talk about though to get the conversation rolling again. Damn it Hotaru, you and your stupid- wait.

"I got it!" I shouted at a Eureka moment as my mind suddenly clicked to pieces together. "Hotaru, you're a genius!"

"I...am?" She asked me, tilting her head in confusion.

"Remember what you told me."

I went to find Hotaru, who had been standing in the hallway away from the crime scene.

* * *

 _"Hotaru, what are you doing?" Akiko said._

 _"Oh, I don't want to get in anyone's way. So I'm just standing here." In other words, she was being lazy. "I'm not good with this stuff anyway."_

 _"Okay. Did you know Akemi had a rose in her hand?"_

 _"A rose you say..." Hotaru gave a moment to contemplate it. "Actually..."_

 _"What? You know something?" I asked her._

 _"Earlier today I had left my room door unlocked when I went to lunch break with everyone. When I returned, my door had been opened widely and one of the flowers I brought with me went missing. A Carola to be precise." Now that I think about it, the flower in Akemi's hand did look like a Carola rose._

* * *

"You told me someone went into your room and stole the rose. All because you left the door unlocked so someone went in and stole it." I elaborated.

"Oh yeah. That." Hotaru muttered, blushing at her actions most likely.

"Why?" Hiroaki asked. "It seems pointless for someone to take some flower without reason..."

"Carola Roses actually symbolize love in a sense." Hotaru explained. "You give someone a bouquet to show how much you care for them. The red shows how passionate your love is for one another... that's what people tell me at least." Once again: lazy.

"So... the killer lured Akemi out, then." Chou inferred. "After all, the rose and the note seem like she was lured out by someone lying to her about romantic pursuits."

"Yeah, that makes sense...!" Ryota commented.

"So then... she was attacked in Class 3-3 after heading there at 6:30. It all makes sense!"

(-HEAT UP-) Chou seemed exuberant about her findings. "Akemi was lured out, that's when the killer attacked!"

"Afterwards..." Ikazuchi tried finishing the thought. "The killer probably dragged her body to the art room."

"Not only that, she was taken by complete surprise in the room." Chou added.

"How could you know all of that anyway?" Shin asked.

"That's easy! I'm totally guessing! Like anyone saw her except the killer?"

"Just... just stop..." I sighed.

(SOLAR) "You guys are getting too wild. Plus you totally forgot, Miyako saw her before anyone else went into the school." I went on, practically droning at this point but why bore you?

"Wait, really...?" Chou said. "I guess I lost it when you guys were arguing..."

"She's right... I remember seeing Akemi around... 6 sharp?"

"Is that a question?" Makoto asked.

"N-No, I'm positive I saw her!" Miyako declared through her stammering.

"But, why at six then?" Izanagi inquired. "If she got the note for 6:30 it doesn't make much sense..."

Damn... he's got a point. If she got the note to meet at 6:30, then why would she show up at six? Maybe Miyako was lying. Or maybe the note has nothing to do with this? Crap, I don't know anything!

(DAWN) Rei spoke up to offer a new perspective. "Are we... looking at this the wrong way?" Huh? What'd she mean by that? "What I mean is that maybe we're looking at this wrong. Like who attacked who." Wait, seriously?

"Are you implying she did that to herself?" Akihiro questioned.

"No, not that. There's no doubt in my mind the killer is still alive." Rei stated. "But maybe, just maybe, we're viewing this from only one perspective. We might need to consider a few... undesirable possibilities."

"What are you saying...?" Ryota asked.

Atsushi sighed in irritation. "Obviously she's saying that maybe instead of Akemi being a victim, we should be viewing her as a culprit."

"A-A culprit!?" I stammered out. "Are you saying she'd just kill someone!?"

"Yeah, I mean... that girl was a few screws loose. So it's hard for me to just imagine an idea like that fitting into a head space like hers..." Juku agreed with me.

"Look, I know you don't want to consider the possibility since you were close." Rei replied. "But there's some things about her actions that seem off. And if you forgot, she's the Ultimate Actress. So she could've been fooling you the whole time." I was dumbfounded. No sound could escape my mouth as I heard something that could only be referred to as blasphemy. I hadn't even considered that Akemi could've been lying to me. I was too trusting of her if she was. I stared at her sign in shock and just continued to be absolutely lost. Unbelievable... "I could be wrong, in fact I hope I'm wrong, but maybe she wrote the note. And it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assume she broke into Hotaru's room as well to steal a rose."

"Why go through all the trouble? It doesn't make much sense..." Hiroaki said.

"Roses are signs of love and passion, as Hotaru said earlier. So it isn't entirely out of logic to assume that she could send the note as the guise of a love note." Shin explained.

"So you're saying that she sent a note of passion to a hot blooded individual. However, it was just a ruse to get the target to lower their guard so she could kill them?" Izanagi reiterated. "I will admit, it's ingenious that someone managed to pull that off. But who'd be dumb enough to fall for that?"

"I didn't even know that she did that..." Ikazuchi stated. "To think, I was in the same building as a devious killer...!"

"But, it had to be one of the guys in the building." Destiny suggested. "Rei and I were in the building, but we were together the whole time! Besides, I doubt she'd swing that way with a girl..."

"So, Shin? Atsushi? You're alibis don't hold up." Miyako suggested.

"I never received that note." Shin stated. "Besides, even if I did, women don't interest me." Wait, does that mean he's...? I know I should say something here but I'm still recovering from what they suggested.

"It wasn't me. I was on the second floor. And the crime definitely took place on the third floor." Atsushi said. "Now, does anyone know why?"

I had to force myself to reply to his question. "It was the state of the classroom, the blood streaks in the hall and finally the mess in the art room. Those are all places on the third floor..."

"But, that can't be. Someone had to do it if it wasn't suicide!" Chou exclaimed. "Gah, my head is starting to spin!"

"Actually, it seems convoluted but if we keep at it I'm sure you'll understand." Rei encouraged us. Keep at what? Is there even anything left to talk about?

(-BREAK-) "Is there even anything left?" Ikazuchi asked.

"Well, there has to be something we're missing." Rei said. "Maybe if someone saw anything. Or perhaps we left something out."

"Is it possible we forgot to explain the methods? Or what Akemi was even thinking..." Shin suggested.

"Methods?" Destiny asked.

"What went down precisely. Like how she became the victim. What her plan of attack was. These are the questions we need to be answering." Shin replied.

"How are we supposed to know what the hell to ask?" Juku asked.

"M-maybe... the weapons?" Hiroaki asked.

"What good'll those do?" Ryota asked.

"Well, like Rei and Shin said... it'll help us find out what happened."

"That must be it!" I shouted, acknowledging Hiroaki's statement.

(FUTURE) "Hiroaki's right. In order to solve this final mystery lies within the murder weapons." I explained.

"How so?" Makoto asked.

"Well, there were three objects used to wound her. The knife, the Monokuma statue, and the metal pole in the classroom."

"So someone finally acknowledges it." Atsushi sighed. "Honestly, I was worried no one was gonna say it. In fact, it's crucial to solving the case."

"It is?" Miyako asked.

"Then why didn't you say anything before...!?" Juku growled.

"Because no one would understand if I just gave you the answer." Atsushi stated. "We had to do this in a precise way, otherwise accepting the truth may have proven impossible." My attention now shot to Atsushi. Had he solved everything already? Or at least had a good idea of what happened? He's saying we had to do this in a precise way... did he know we what all of us were going to say and do? Atsushi Tamuki, just who are you?

"So you're implying you knew everything from the start!?" Destiny inquired.

"Not everything. I just had a couple guesses. However, I think I've just about got it." Atsushi replied. He adjusted his glasses and they gave off a bit of a glare to them. So he just needs a little more? Fine then, we just have to keep thinking!

(-HOPE VS DESPAIR-) "I'm almost to a conclusion. Then the mystery can finally end." Atsushi declared.

"How are you so confident? What exactly do you know?" Ryota asked.

"As I said before, I'm not entirely sure just yet. But what I do know is what Akemi was assaulted with first." Atsushi stated.

"But wait a sec, wasn't she attacked with the knife first? That's how she got her stab wound!"

"No, that's wrong!" I cried, suddenly realizing what Atsushi meant.

(SOLAR) "The metal pole!" I declared.

"The... what?" Ikazuchi asked.

"In Class 3-1, there was a pole on the ground missing some paint. Some of the paint comes off the second it comes into contact with another surface. Akemi had some of that paint on her boot right where she suffered that ankle wound!"

"So that's how she got it." Destiny said in relief. "I was wondering that a while ago..." She tried to laugh it off and play it cool. We did the best thing we could do and ignored her.

"So, you're saying the killer used that pole to swing at Akemi's ankle to keep her from moving. Then when she couldn't escape, used the knife to finish the job in a non messy way?" Izanagi pondered aloud. "My question is how they managed to get the pole there."

"I think that's just secondary stuff." Rei responded. "Whether Akemi brought it herself with intent of beating her target to death or if the attacker brought it as self defense we won't know. What we do know is what happened."

"Actually, there is one way." Atsushi said. "Though you wouldn't have seen it with all the blood on her hands."

"So she had the paint on her hands the whole time and it was just under a coat of blood..." Shin said. "Interesting."

"Precisely old chap!" Atsushi said in a mock tone of what I only can assume to be Akemi's British accent. I wasn't too comfortable with that but I decided against an interjection. "She was holding the pole. Then, after she was stabbed in the hall, she crawled the best she could and wound up in the art room. There she dislodged the knife and tried to stop the bleeding. However, the killer had noticed this as he finished disposing of the evidence and finished the job using the Monokuma Statue. All to keep his identity a secret.

"Wait.. he?" Miyako asked. "The killer's a boy?"

"Not just any boy, one in particular. I know you know Akiko. The culprit is the owner of something in the classroom." Atsushi directed attention on me.

(TROPICAL DESPAIR) I... know? I know the killer's identity? He's talking about the dirty gloves... I know that fact. My heart began to pound as it dawned on me who the culprit really was. All this time they've been deceiving us to protect themselves but now their name couldn't be any clearer if you tried. "It was... you, Ikazuchi?"

(ODD) Ikazuchi seemed shocked. "Me!? The killer!?"

"It does make sense. He does fit all the consistencies with the killer so far." Hotaru said. "To think the fruition of my talents to be used for such...such...!"

"Despair?" Monokuma suggested.

"Yes that!" The botanist exclaimed.

"Now wait just a-"

"I can't believe it! Why would you?" Accusations like that were coming from everyone else.

"NOW WAIT JUST A FUCKING SECOND!" Ikazuchi snapped. "Do you honestly think I could kill her!? You're nothing more than dumb sheep if don't think otherwise!"

"Well..." Rei said. "You're behavior up til now definitely counts as suspicious."

"Wha-!? Ms. Naoko!" Ikazuchi seemed devasted.

"First, you forget all about the lesson we had planned. Then ever since the trial started you've been passing the blame like wild fire."

"N-no! You don't get it!" Ikazuchi said. He was building a defensive rebuttal against all claims thrown at him. I knew the evidence that would incriminate him and finally put this case to rest. I wasn't doing this out of vengeance. I was steamed at the fact Akemi was gone, but I just wanted the truth now... the hope and despair of this decision.

(Panic Talk Action) Ikazuchi suddenly scoffed. "Heh. Like you have proof to incriminate me. No one wants to hear your bogus theories, y'know! You're dumber than dumb if you honestly believe I could kill anyone."

"Actually, there's one thing that convinces me for certain." I refuted. "It's not just some dumb theory."

"What...!?" His facade seemed to be cracking. He was now starting to allow his emotions to seep through into his argument. I just needed to play that to my advantage. For him to slip up.

(HYPER PTA) "Honestly, I've got no clue what you're saying! It's all bullshit theories! You're dumber than dumb if you think that's sufficient evidence against me!"

"The evidence I have is-"

(HYPER ULTRA PTA) "ENOUGH!" He snapped once more. This was my chance. "YOU'RE BRAIN DEAD! YOU KEEP THINKING I DID THIS SHIT BUT YOU'VE GOT ANOTHER FUCKING THING COMING IF YOU THINK I DID THAT! WHAT ABOUT AKEMI!? I BET SHE KILLED HERSELF! SHE WAS SO FAR OFF THE DEEP END IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT'D SHE'D OFF HERSELF! YOU'VE GOT NO PROOF!" My chance.

"Your gloves!" I declared boldly. His entire facade fell apart as that one fact put the final nail in the coffin. Terror and shock was expressed deeply across his face.

(SOLAR) "You told me you were wearing your spare gloves? But why say that I wonder..."

"Gah-!" He choked.

"Then the gloves in the trash bin are his main pair..." Miyako said. "Meaning he used the pole too..."

"Ikazuchi is this true?" Makoto demanded an answer. Ikazuchi couldn't form any comprehensible sentences.

"Please. Allow me." I said. Everything finally becoming clear.

(-CLIMAX RETURN-) "This case begins all the way back to the victim, Akemi Hanako, when she snuck into Hotaru's room to steal a rose. Roses are typically used to convey passionate emotions to another person. She then created a vague note telling her initial target, which would eventually become her killer, to meet in the main school building at 6:30. This was all an attempt to draw out the target in hopes she could murder them. She then proceeded to take a metal pole, most likely from the Campus store, and the hunting knife most likely as a back up weapon and went up early nearly undetected to get into position. Miyako however, was able to watch her from a distance, but nothing more. Shortly after, her target arrived in Class 3-1. That's when her attack began. Although the details pertaining to what happened here seem undecipherable it seemed Akemi was disarmed of both her weapons. Akemi did the only thing she could think of and tried to flee. She didn't get far down the hall as the killer caught up to her and wounded her ankle so she couldn't walk. Here, the killer took the knife and stabbed her about three times. They no doubt had gotten her blood on themselves and went to get clean. What they didn't account for was Akemi still being alive. Since she was bleeding out and desperate she left a trail of her blood as she tried to escape into the art room to try and dress her wounds. The killer had just finished disposing of what would later be used as incriminating evidence, and noticed Akemi was still alive. I imagine they couldn't have her swaying us in any sense so they had to silence her for good. They grabbed one of the Monokuma statues and smashed it across her head, ultimately killing her. Thus creating their guilt ridden crime all the more messy. And the shocking conclusion is that the only one who could've killed her after meeting her is none other than Ikazuchi Michi!" That was everything we deduced with this case.

Somehow, recapping his crimes only seemed to break him further. No one could say anything even if they wanted to. But Monokuma had more than enough words for us. "Well, it seems you've all decided on a clear culprit. So simply pull the lever into what you think about the victimized player. Are they really the blackened? What's it gonna be? What's is GONNA BEEEEE?" God he was annoying. But he was right. The lever showed up in front of all of us as Monokuma finished his rant. We didn't have much of a choice, so I shut my eyes and went with my gut and voted guilty... The monitor above us showed a slot machine style lottery with all of our faces on a portion of the wheel. All three wheels stopped on Ikazuchi's face and flashed guilty. "Wow! You newbies totally got it right!"

"We were... right?" I muttered. I looked at Ikazuchi who was still broken by this outcome. "Ikazuchi... why...? Why!?" I tried demanding.

"B-because..." He muttered. His hands were trembling at his side and tears rolled down his face. However these weren't of sadness. They were of rage, anger, frustration. "That bitch was going to kill us all..."

"So she really was planning a murder..." Makoto sighed dejectedly. "If only we could've stopped her... I'm such a failure..."

"It's all our fault..." Hiroaki whimpered. "If only we could've stopped Akemi earlier... then neither Ikazuchi nor Akemi would've had to die...!"

"Really then? What could you have done then?" Akihiro asked in a very condescending tone.

"W-what...?" Hiroaki asked, his eyes watering up.

"Akemi had murder on her mind. No doubt if you stood between her, she would've had no problem compensating you for her target. That goes for all of you too." The Businessman put bluntly. He... he had a point. I shouldn't have trusted Akemi... She could've killed me at any time too...

At this point Hiroaki was crying because of what Akihiro had said. The Fanfic creator did his best to wipe the tears away as quickly as possible. Destiny and Juku seemed enraged by his choice of words. "Hey!" Destiny said.

"Don't go making people weaker than you cry. Or else you'll have me to fuck with." Juku growled.

"Like I care what some basic animals think." He said. "Bottom line is, no one can be trusted. Take Ikazuchi there for example. He's a dead man because he thought he had our trust." We had all fallen speechless by this point. Akihiro's words really cut us all deep. Trust in a situation like this was a wasted virtue. Who needed it?

"Well, I can't say much about his deceit. But I think if Akemi were still alive we would've been worse off." Atsushi admitted, finally finding the confidence to speak. Which seemed to be rare for him. "She was the Ultimate Actress, and would've came up with a better ploy and false leads than Ikazuchi. So rather than feeling negatively, we should be grateful we got Ikazuchi. In a way, he saved us."

"But... he's still gonna die." Miyako pointed out bleakly. There was no two ways about that. Ikazuchi was a dead man. But if you want to think like Atsushi thinks then, he did save us. But still? Was that right? Condemning our classmate to death row?

"Okay okay! Enough of your sappy classroom quarrels!" Monokuma shouted. "Remember, we still got a punishment for this guy?"

"P-punishment..." Ikazuchi repeated blankly. At this point he was devoid of emotion. Though his face said it all. That horrified expression. That paleness to his face. I recognized an empty look like that. He was in the throes of despair. Not so much as the Remnants of Despair were, but this was Ikazuchi's despair. A hole he can't crawl out of. "Punishment. Punishment. Punishmentpunishmentpunishmentpunishment..." He repeated like a mantra. He was probably getting himself to feel something- anything. Not a twinge of emotion other than fear.

"Now then, I've prepared a very special punishment for the Ultimate Electrician! Let's give it everything we've got! IT'S... PUNISHMENT TIME!" He cried. As he said that, a small box with a large red button rose up in front of his throne. He pulled out a tiny hammer and gave that button a good whack. An 8 bit version of Ikazuchi was standing normally at his spot. An 8 bit Monokuma grabbed Ikazuchi and dragged him off...

( **Ikazuchi gets Amp'd** ) We all stood and looked on in horror as lights began to go off one by one from above us. Until finally Ikazuchi was the center of attention. He was sweating profusely, which caused his skin to glisten against the light. None of us could react in time to witness he began to be dragged away by a chain clamped around his neck. He was pulled into a hallway we hadn't gone down yet, however Monokuma had turned on the monitor for us and we got explicit details. Ikazuchi was strapped to what looked like an electric chair made entirely of metal. That wasn't the worst part. It had been molded into a cage that had been connected to a Tesla Coil. Monokuma was right outside the cage in front of what looked like a control panel. He flipped a switch and the panel whirred to life as it lit up. But nothing was happening to Ikazuchi. Monokuma started to mess around like a nut on the panel and the machine would get brighter and brighter, but nothing would happen to Ikazuchi. My stomach was doing back flips at this point and my heart was beating so fast out of fear I could barely breathe. That's when I saw it. It wasn't plugged in. But when I noticed it, Monokuma did too. And all he did was give it a simple plug and the whole room lit up extremely fast in a burst of electricity. We didn't even get to see what happened too well because the camera had gotten disconnected somehow and we were left with nothing but static.

We all stared at the static with expressions that could only be described as outrageous. Our mouths were agape, our eyes stretched to their limits while glued to the static. The white noise of the static deafened me. I couldn't move. My legs didn't want to move. I didn't fall. But I couldn't move. "Whew..." Monokuma sighed. "What a nice workout. I haven't done that in what felt like ages~." He said with content. No one had any sort of retort for the bear. Not this time.

* * *

 _ **Students Remaining: (27)**_  
 _ **Akiko S. - Ultimate ?**_  
 _ **Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster**_  
 _ **Akemi Hanako - X (Former Ultimate Actress)**_  
 _ **Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master**_  
 _ **Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant**_  
 _ **Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist**_  
 _ **Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist**_  
 _ **Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir**_  
 _ **Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium**_  
 _ **Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant**_  
 _ **Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma**_  
 _ **Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author**_  
 _ **Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist**_  
 _ **Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer**_  
 _ **Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector**_  
 _ **Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista**_  
 _ **Masato Osamu - Ultimate Mathemitician**_  
 _ **Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star**_  
 _ **Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef**_  
 _ **Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?**_  
 _ **Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer**_  
 _ **Shigeo Kyou -X (Former Ultimate Connosseiur)**_  
 _ **Ikazuchi Michi - X (Former Ultimate Electrician)**_  
 _ **Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker**_  
 _ **Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor**_  
 _ **Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler**_  
 _ **Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)**_  
 _ **Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student**_  
 _ **Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer**_  
 _ **Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist**_  
 _ **Yukio Yuudai -X (Former Ultimate Hero)**_

 _ **Bonus:**_ _www . you tube watch?v= VkkKcwF7Z64 - DEAD or LIE cover on YouTube. I love this song so much and someone did it in English. YES!_


	8. Class Trial(?) 1: B

**Chapter 3** : **Logical Despair (B)**

 _ **Danganronpa franchise belongs to Spike Chunsoft and Kazutaka Kodaka. This is a piece of shit is just fiction purely for entertainment purposes only.**_

* * *

"Shuttle bus?" Yoichi asked me. I looked at him and shook my head.

"Don't look at me. We've only been here for two days." I told him. "Though it has to be somewhere outside. I'm sure if we just follow the others then we'll find it." He gave me a nod of confirmation. We all were seemingly a little listless since none of us had taken the time to actually memorize the layout of the campus. Give us some slack, we only had two days and given everything that's happened we could be excused for not knowing that much. We did eventually find the stop and had all gathered there. Monokuma then spawned from thin air and gave us his usual inconsiderate, insufferable voice as he greeted us. That voice is something that will scar so many of us if we ever make it out alive.

"Welcome Group B, to your first class trial! And I've gotta say, I'm very proud of you!" Monokuma stated ecstatically.

"'Proud'?" Natsuko reiterated as a question. "What do you mean?"

"Upupupu..." He chuckled. "Of course. You're the group to start the killings. Finally, something extreme and exciting!" Monokuma exclaimed. "Unlike that wretched Group A with their friendship bullshit! You guys cut right to the chase and know where your priorities lie." He extended his paw out to all of us as a whole. It could just be the paranoia talking, but I could've sworn he had a bit of emphasis on me specifically. Though it was only for a moment as he went on. "Great job you guys!"

"Hey, you stupid bear!" Emiko called out. "What the hell are you talking about!? Like, you're vague as shit! Explain!"

"Priorities." Monokuma replied. "You all know what has to get done."

"We...do?" Tatsuya asked. Of course we all knew. He was clearly playing coy with the situation. We were all in a Mutual Killing Game. A game of self preservation, where platitudes of friendship couldn't be as trusted as in any other scenario. This was an All-for-one situation Monokuma put us in... And Shigeo's killer had played right into his paws. One of us had done that. Something seemingly so ludicrous once before was now an inevitability at this point. Bottom line: One of us is a killer and we'll die if we don't figure out who!

"Okay, so are you ready for your first class trial...? 79th Class of Hope's Peak Academy, Group B...!" Monokuma taunted.

Just as he did a shuttle bus rolled up to the stop and Monokuma motioned for us to board. We were all getting on but someone then grabbed my shoulder and kept me back... It was Chidori. "Chidori..."

"Kazuki, I..." She wanted to say something, but she was just fumbling her words at this point. She pushed her fingers nervously together and averted her gaze from mine.

"What's wrong?" I asked her. She didn't say anything. She only darted her eyes around nervously, embarrassed about something probably. "If you aren't ready to talk about it now, then save it for after the class trial for when you feel comfortable." She didn't say anything as she just nodded and got on the shuttle in front of me. Once we were all aboard, Monokuma closed the bus doors and we all had taken a seat somewhere. Everyone had seated themselves as far away from each other as we possibly could. No one could be trusted in this scenario. To the individual, the group as a whole was tainted by something toxic. What that was, I couldn't tell you even if I wanted. I was much like the rest. One of us had just committed a murder and was now on the line for it. I had no idea who could've done it or if one of us was even capable of performing such a heinous act but here we are. Living in that reality.

I decided to go over the information I collected one last time to try and solidify some kind of a case from it. Any gaps or questions in logic I'd need to rely on some kind of luck.

(TRIAL UNDERGROUND) _Monokuma File 1-B:_ _Victim: Shigeo Kyou. Time of death: 8:27 pm. The victim suffered a major wound to the lower abdomen and bled to death. No other wounds on the victim's body._

 _Yukino's_ _Autopsy: According to Yukino, the victim had something pierce his intestine, which lead to him bleeding to death. But what caused it?_

 _Gun and Tripod:_ _A gun that had been propped on a tripod, originating from the Campus Store. It's a very defective gun. Firing at the slightest of sudden movements. Mistake or design choice? How was the killer able to fire the weapon to begin with?_

 _Scrap Paper:_ _A bunch of chicken scratch on a single sheet of paper. What could this mean?_

 _Chidori's Account:_ _It seems some items from the store were taken. Most likely the murder weapon._

 _Yukio's_ _Note_ _:_ _It was the note that Yukio handed to everyone for the get together. The killer probably planned this in advance, knowing this party was going to happen._

...Wait, that's all I have!? Crap, what good'll this do? It was finally time we arrived at some sort of courtroom. It took about an hour or so for us to arrive and the thirteen of us disembarked the bus. We all stood in front of the large chamber and waited for Monokuma to get us moving again. He told us to follow him up the large staircase and we all followed like obedient pets and we then stood in the middle of a circular court room. We had to take our assigned seats. Starting from myself going clockwise: Myself, Yukino, Yukio (now deceased), Tatsuya, Saburo, Kohaku, Emiko, a space directly across from me, Yoichi, Shigeo (now deceased) Natsuko, Masato, Kazuhiro, Shinju, Chidori and Amaya before cycling back to me. There were 16 spaces in total and only 15 of us. On a monitor above Monokuma's head it read " **Court now in session.** "

(DAWN) "Let's start with a basic explanation of the class trail," Monokuma explained. "So your votes will determine the results. If you can figure out "whodunit" then I'll punish what will now be known as the *blackened*. But if you guess the wrong one... I'll punish everyone BESIDES the blackened! And that person will be granted permission to leave this school."

"And... one of us is the actual killer?" I asked, gloom sticking to each word vehemently.

"That's right!" Monokuma said in a tone that contrasted mine. I remained silent at the thought of someone able to kill a classmate.

"Before we start, are the signs necessary?" Saburo pointed out to the signs of Yukio and Shigeo with a crimson red 'X' slashed through them. "I remember them being important during the first killing game but they seem rather... redundant."

"They're very necessary!" Monokuma exclaimed. "How are we supposed to remember them if there's nothing left of them!?"

"Well... they kinda died right in front of us..." Yoichi stated.

"And what about the sixteenth seat?" Chidori asked. All of our attention was drawn towards the seat below Monokuma. "There's fifteen of us to begin with, so it's pretty suspicious to have sixteen."

"Well, Group A and B both share the same courtroom. So rather than just make two separate buildings and seats, I just rolled it into one. You guys seem very incessant on the preamble, so let's get to talking about the murder already!" Monokuma exclaimed from his throne.

"Right, so where do we go from here?" Amaya asked. "I've never really watched too much of mystery to understand where to start."

"I have!" Kazuhiro exclaimed. "The first thing they always do is confirm the facts! I can't believe this will be like that American television show!" He seemed to exclaim that last fact to himself.

"But... what's fact?" Tatsuya inquired, while crossing those corded arms. "I find it highly improbable that the information everyone found is the same."

"Would it be wrong to start with the Monokuma File? Then we can piece it together from there." Yukino suggested. "If we don't, we all die..." Those final words seemed to hang over everyone as the situation suddenly felt more dire. I have to pull myself together, for everyone's sake.

(-BREAK-) "Fine, we'll play along." Masato sighed, sounding condescending in a way. "According to the Monokuma File Shigeo suffered from a severe wound to his abdomen. He died at 8:27 PM... That's all we have from the file."

"Wait, seriously!?" Shinju cried in a panic. "What are we gonna do!?"

"Did anyone examine the body?" Chidori asked.

"No one really went near the body. None of us are good at that kind of stuff." Amaya dismissed.

"That's wrong!" I shouted, realizing a contradiction in her statement.

(SOLAR) "Wait a minute, Amaya. Someone hear is good at that kind of stuff." I said. "Right, Yukino?"

"Correct." The blond doctor said. "It's in my field of profession to identify injuries and illnesses. If I couldn't do that, then I wouldn't have the title of Ultimate Doctor."

"Your ego aside..." Natsuko muttered, then asked, "What did you find?"

"The victim's intestine had been pierced with some kind of object. I wasn't able to extract it because I didn't have the proper tools at the time." Yukino stated. "So I was unable to discern where it came from."

"W-wait, his i-i-intestine?" Kohaku stammered out. "I-I thought he s-said it was his stomach...!"

"Yukino told me that it's a common misconception to assume where all your organs are in your lower abdomen." I pointed out, recalling the conversation I had with Yukino.

* * *

 _"Anyway, the wound looks like it hit him in his intestine, not his stomach."_

 _"I remember he said it was in his stomach..."_

 _"It's common to confuse where all those organs are since it's all in the general vicinity. But the stomach is closer to the upper half of the torso whilst all the other major organs are in the lower half." Yukino went on._

 _"So, what caused the injury?" I asked her._

 _"Something had pierced his intestine. That's what caused the injury which led to him bleeding to death."_

* * *

"He said his stomach when in actuality it was his intestine." I pointed out.

"Enough of that." Masato blurted suddenly. "I believe its time we cut this trial short. Wouldn't you agree, Kazuhiro?" He seemed mightily confident in something.

"Yeah!" Kazuhiro stated.

"What the heck do you mean, cut it short?" Emiko asked with her usual irate tone.

"I'm talking about the culprit, obviously." The mathematician declared.

(TURBULENT) "Wait, you know who did it!?" Yoichi gasped in shock.

"Of course." Masato said. "There's no doubt the killer is you, Hajime Kazuki!" He declared.

"W-what!?" I asked in utter shock. "W-wait a minute! On what grounds are you making this accusation!?"

"All the evidence that I found in this case points to you being the killer." He stated calmly. "In your room I found within your bloody clothing, this." From his e-Handbook he showed everyone a bloodied knife. The one that came from the survival kit. "The murder weapon. You were also the only one who was closest to him when he died. And he died right in your arms."

(DISTRUST) "W-wait!" I tried to stammer out nervously. "It's not like that, honest! I never had the knife!"

"Wait, that was...!" Chidori gasped.

"I said wait!" I shouted. "I didn't use the knife at all. He had that injury the moment he stood up!"

"Likely story criminal." Masato claimed. "You easily slipped the knife into him the moment you caught him, hid it in your jacket pocket while you attempted to act like you were concerned and finally swapped out the jacket with the one you currently have now."

"His explanation does make sense..." Shinju said more softly than usual. "He was the only one next to him when he died after all."

"The weapon was found in his room!" Kazuhiro declared.

"Wait, Masato. How could that knife have been in my jacket when you said there was no proof to be found in my room!?" I asked dumbfounded by the situation.

"I hope you could forgive my little white lie. I didn't want to alert you to having your cover blown so easily." He stated.

I held my hands out in a defensive manner. I was trembling. How could any of that happen? I didn't use the knife to kill Shigeo! So how would Masato have found it in my room?

(DAWN) "Jeez, you're all like sheep." Saburo sighed. "Overlooking crucial details to cling to some pretenses of some self-proclaimed genius?"

"Self... proclaimed!?" The mathematician gasped out.

"Hey, what the hell are you talking about!? Crucial details!" Emiko shouted.

"N-not s-s-so loud...!" Kohaku rasped out while covering her ears. She was right next to Emiko after all.

Saburo sighed once again and turned his gaze away from everyone else present in the court room. "If you choose to believe Osamu's predictions, by all means go ahead. I personally don't care what the group decides as a whole. However, I have some evidence of my own I want everyone to evaluate and compare to his alleged evidence. We do have the time, after all."

"If you don't care so much, then why bother sharing your evidence?" Natsuko asked.

"The truth needs to be seized from multiple viewpoints. Great detectives always say that, especially in cop shows and the like." Kazuhiro seemingly "squee'd" at the mention of murder mystery. "First, I want to show everyone this." From his e-Handbook he presented something that Saburo and I saw earlier.

"Is that... the pistol and tripod from the back?" I asked, reassuring the obvious.

"Correct. I found this ominous duo in the backroom where all the food is stored." The white haired enigma stated, not making eye contact once. "I'm inclined to believe that this is the murder weapon." Something about Saburo at the moment sounded kind of... robotic? Or maybe it was just rehearsed...

"Hold it." Shinju interjected. "How am I supposed to believe that the killer would use a gun over something more close range. Like assassinating them with a thick needle in the food or even just running up to them. It just seems pretty nonsensical to use a gun for something too easy."

"Actually, it makes logical sense." Saburo explained. "There's something about this gun that makes it different from normal firearms. Kazuki knows what I'm referring to, right?"

I should know what he means. It did just happen. "The gun is dysfunctional."

"Dysfunctional how?" Chidori asked.

"The gun has a very sensitive trigger, so just shaking it slightly sets it to fire." I explained.

"The killer must've found this out by accident, otherwise they wouldn't have considered the gun as the weapon." Saburo elaborated.

"W-w-wait a s-s-second!" Kohaku stammered out. "H-how are you so sure it's the murder weapon!? I-it seems i-i-impossible!" Now that I think about it, there was something that made me think it was the murder weapon. But, what?

(-BREAK-) "I-it'd be impossible for the gun to be the w-weapon t-t-to begin with!" Kohaku declared.

"What other weapon could there be then? It's not like the killer had time to clear everything up." Yoichi stated. "Because Saburo had told us what to do."

"All we know is that something pierced Shigeo's innards..." Yukino stated.

"The attacker must've done it before he gave any orders... It's the knife. Case closed." Masato stated adamantly.

"No, that's wrong!" I shouted.

(SOLAR) "What is with you?" Masato asked me. "Why do you keep shouting that?"

"A habit, I guess. More importantly, the knife wasn't the murder weapon. If you've been listening to what both Yukino and Saburo have been saying, then it becomes clear!"

"...How, exactly?" Tatsuya asked.

"They keep using the term "pierce". Not "stab"." I said.

"What difference does it make!? Isn't a wound still a wound?" Kazuhiro inquired.

"Technically, no." I went on. "First, they wouldn't keep using the term if it was a simple stab wound. They both would've said "stab" eventually. Second, could a single stab from a knife like this really cause that much damage to someone's intestine?"

"Huh. Guess that does make a lot more sense." Amaya said.

"In fact, I doubt that knife would hurt a big guy like Shigeo!" Shinju exclaimed.

"In a way you're not wrong." Yukino added. "Due to Shigeo's body mass, the blade of a knife shouldn't be able to go all the way through his intestine. What specifically happened was that an object of sorts had pierced his intestine, causing it to rupture. He would've been alive a whole lot longer than the few seconds we saw if the knife had been the true weapon."

"Which is what brings us back to the gun! Right, bro?" Yoichi asked, almost gleeful.

"Correct." Saburo replied while crossing his arms. "The killer most likely discovered that this weapon was faulty on accident when they went to get this, a tripod, and a magazine of bullets."

"Wait, a magazine?" Chidori gasped. "There weren't any gun magazines inside the Campus Store. They're all loaded with six bullets each."

"Really...?" The white haired male asked solemnly rather than with surprise. He seemed to be in deep thought once again.

(MR MONOKUMA'S LESSON)

"Correct correct CORRECT, Ms. Yukimura!" Monokuma chimed in. "All guns in the store come with a six bullet pack guarantee. But no more than that. If you can't more bullets then you need to get more guns."

"But, why not just give us more bullets? It makes much more sense that way." Shinju explained.

"Don't give the killer bear MORE reason to kill!" Emiko shouted.

"Actually, if I gave you all ammunition directly then I'd be doing a terrible grievance as your headmaster. I'm supposed to inspire creativity in your day to day actions, not hinder it with mundane weapons. It'd just be no fun at all! And what would you do if the killing's were the same every time? You'd no doubt all get bored."

"Likely story. It's murder, so I doubt killing people would ever get boring." Yoichi explained. "N-not that I think killing people is fun! Just erm... eventful?" Was he being serious? At a time like this they can find the time to try being lighthearted.

(DAWN)

"Monokuma's tendencies aside..." Kazuhiro said in an attempt to change the subject. "You have yet to show any proof you had no involvement with the murder, Kazuki."

"Did you miss the part where they explained the wound?" Emiko asked, irritated by Kazuhiro's constant pointing of me. She seemed a bit more invested now than earlier, probably because she realized her life is on the line too.

"B-both Saburo and Y-Yukino showed that a gun w-was the weapon." Kohaku elaborated.

"Okay, so what?" Kazuhiro said. "Just because the knife wasn't used doesn't mean he isn't the killer."

"While you do bring up a good point, I can assure you Kazuki never left his room from when we all gathered for lunch to dinner." Saburo stated. "I would know because I saw him and Yukio discussing things and Kazuki eventually entered the room."

"But how come you know he never left?" Amaya asked with a child like naivete. She did have a point in regards to Saburo would know I was resting in my room. I never once told anyone I had been resting in my room.

"W-were you watching o-over him...?" Kohaku asked, visibly pleased with the development of the situation for some reason. "L-like a chivalrous knight does for their beloved?"

"What kinda things brew in that head of yours?" I asked, embarrassed by the situation. I wasn't entirely revolted, just flustered. At least Saburo was attractive- Okay, I'm gonna stop before someone gets uncomfortable.

"The answers more mundane than romantic." Saburo sighed in that usual uninterested tone of his. "I was with Yoichi the entire period. In fact, so were you Hisao. I was serving as a watch the whole time and not once did I see Kazuki leave the dorm building."

"Maybe he slipped by when you didn't notice." Masato suggested. "I remember you talking with Yoichi the whole time. Plus, an additional motive could be for Kazuki's preference of name. Shigeo always called him Hajime to his dismay, so maybe he saw his opportunity to strike."

"Hold on!" Chidori cried out. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Our apologies, Chidori." Kazuhiro said. "It was Yukio's idea to get us all to gather together for that dinner, remember?" As he explained I thought back to when Yukio came to me in my room. He did invite me to a dinner.

"Now that I think about it, is it entirely possible Yukio planned it out?" I asked, with a bit of a nervous tone in my voice.

"Wait, are you saying Yukio wanted us to commit a murder!?" Shinju asked in disbelief.

(TURBULENT)

"I'm suggesting that Yukio may be the killer himself." I explained. "Though, that's just a thought... I don't have any evidence for it..." I didn't want to think this way about our deceased classmate, but... it just made too much sense. Yukio seems like the omnipotent element in this case. And how he wanted everyone to gather in one room. The pieces just feel like... they click.

"Seriously!?" Emiko gasped in shock. "That hyper active pain in the neck was actually planning a murder!?"

Tatsuya was quick to counter her point. "It was just a suggestion, please don't accept it as immediate fact. Furthermore, while I do believe Kazuki to be on the correct line of thought, I believe his initial assumption on Yukio being the culprit to be false."

"Yeah. Me too..." Yoichi mumbled. "He didn't ever once seem like the type who'd wanna kill anybody..."

"But, where do we go from here?" Natsuko inquired. "I'm not even entirely positive as to what everyone's insinuating..." She was right. Tatsuya's claim was very bold. I'm not even entirely sure what he meant by that. Just what did he mean?

"Everyone, stay focused. I believe our culprit is easier to be found than you realize." Saburo stated calmly. "This is where it comes down to the wire here. So please, I ask you all to listen to me again."

"How do we advance from this point?" Yukino asked. "I feel like something just clicked but... I'm not sure what..."

"If we talk it out a bit more then I'm sure we'll crack the case." Saburo explained.

"He's right..." Chidori said, steeling herself. "We have to talk it out together."

"I concur." I said, finally. They're right. We just need to relax and discuss this. The truth is in our sights!" God I hope so...

(-HEAT UP-)

We all had no idea what to do next, but Saburo seems to have an understanding of the situation. "To understand how the killer was able to perform their actions... First we have to re-establish what we already know so far."

"We know that the fact the killer used a gun and tripod to kill Shigeo..." Yukino input. "But what comes next?"

"Correct, so the killer had to have set up beforehand, correct?" Saburo went on.

"Yeah, that would seem the most sensible." Yoichi replied.

"But, what are you getting at? You don't make any sense." Natsuko added.

"I'm saying someone must've snuck their way into the backroom of the cafeteria, or was already there." Saburo claimed.

"The only ones there were myself, Masato, Yukio, Yoichi, and you Saburo..." Kazuhiro claimed. "But it doesn't seem likely that we did it."

"No, Saburo's right!" I exclaimed, agreeing with Saburo's claims.

(EXISAL TRIBE *A V3 OST*)

"What Saburo said makes perfect sense!" I reiterated. "If in the cafeteria was only five people, then it's only right to assume one of those five is the mastermind of this problem! So that's what Tatsuya meant..." I looked over to Tatsuya as I said this and he grinned back at me with approval. "But, if it wasn't Yukio then it would've had to have been someone in his group." I deduced.

"As Kazuhiro said, I was with Saburo the whole time!" Yoichi stated quickly. "So there's our alibis! Everyone else I remember being on their own though."

"You're pretty quick to sell everyone else out for having your safety first." Natsuko called Yoichi out on.

"Hey, I'm watching out for my brother too!" Yoichi exclaimed with irritation. "So I'm not just being an asshole and looking out for myself!"

"Still, it says a-a lot about human nature... right?" Kohaku said. "O-one moment all buddy buddy, t-then the next out to get one another l-like animals..." She bit her nail as she said this, clearly nervous at saying anything beyond boy's love and ghosts.

"Regardless, that leaves two prime suspects..." Yukino stated.

"T-there's no way..." Masato said. Kazuhiro and I were together too..."

"Yeah, we were." Kazuhiro stated proudly. "I can say without a doubt that Masato and I were together and neither of us could've ever set up the tripod." Wait, they were... together? This raises something that now bothers me.

"Kazuhiro..." I addressed him. "Just why were you two in my room?"

"Ah-!" Kazuhiro strangled out.

"Wait, they were where!?" Shinju exclaimed. "I remember Chidori and Kazuhiro going with you but not Masato..."

"After I decided to help with the investigation, I went back to my dorm and found Kazuhiro standing guard. That's where he accused me of the murder. Masato had come out saying he didn't find anything incriminating in my room. But, that contradicts what you said earlier. Right, Masato?"

(ODD)

"Y-yes..." Masato stammered. "I-I had my suspicions on you, so I didn't want you finding out I found that knife in your room."

"A likely story." Emiko said. "I bet you were just covering up that nerdy ass of yours, weren't you?" She sounded disgusted by Masato.

"Wait, you've got it wrong...!" Kazuhiro exclaimed. "I swear he's innocent!"

"No more games, Hisao!" Saburo shouted. That was the first time we heard him shout since we got here. Something about his voice was very demanding and powerful. It was enough to get Kazuhiro to cower in fear. "There was one detail I had overlooked before, but thinking back it must've been the key to clearing up everything."

"Huh...?" Masato gasped. "I-I don't know what you mean..." He seemed incredibly panicked about something. But, what was Saburo talking about? Could it be...?

(-HOPE VS DESPAIR-)

"I swear, I didn't do anything...! You've gotta believe me!" Masato pleaded, sweat dripping from his forehead like crazy.

"The evidence would beg otherwise." Saburo claimed.

"No, you're wrong!" Kazuhiro shouted. "There's no way he could've done it! No matter what evidence you have he didn't do it!"

"Sorry... but that's wrong!" I shouted, remembering the one scrap detail I found earlier.

(FUTURE)

"I know one piece of evidence that proves he did it." I said. "It's this scrap paper." I showed everyone the scrapped piece of paper I found in the trash, the one with the numbers.

"Wait, isn't that...?" Amaya gasped.

"Yes, the paper that I showed you that had those numbers on it. He must've done the math out to get the angle just right to-"

"I swear it wasn't me!" He insisted. "You've gotta believe me! Monokuma told me-"

(MR. MONOKUMA'S LESSON)

"Okay! I think that puts the cap on your trial time!" Monokuma interrupted.

"Huh?" Kazuhiro said. "Wait a sec! I thought we got all the time we need!"

"Sorry, but time is not a leisure right now." Monokuma went on. "We've all got busy lives to live so let's just wrap this up, okay?"

"No! Wait dang it!" Masato shouted. "This trial is rigged!"

"Huh...?" I gasped out.

"Pick who you think killed Shigeo Kyou." Monokuma put simply. "Remember, there's no wrong answers." He gave a seductive wink as he said so.

...So, without much option, we voted. Almost unanimously it was for Masato. Almost. One of us had voted for someone else, and I don't think I need to say who.

"Well well well..." Monokuma cooed. "Another slip up like that Kazuhiro, and I may have to punish you along with the blackened."

"You set me up..." Masato growled. "You used me... my intellect..."

"Whatcha gonna do about it?" Monokuma asked innocently. "It's not like I asked you to do those calculations to kill someone or anything."

Wait...! So then it was...! "Monokuma! You set him up!?"

"I never would've expected you to interfere..." Saburo said. "But that doesn't change the result does it? He still rigged it to fire at the result weight shifting."

"No..." I gasped.

Masato grit his teeth and clenched his teeth. "If only I was more aware... If only I realized sooner..."

"Masato, we-" I tried saying.

"Well, without further ado, it's time to start our Punishment!" Monokuma whooped.

"No...!" Chidori gasped.

"You damned bear..." Tatsuya growled. He stood in front of Masato with Yoichi and Kazuhiro at his side. "I won't allow you to kill unjustly."

"There's no way I can turn my back to Masato! I know Yukio wouldn't...!" Yoichi declared.

"Same for me!" Kazuhiro exclaimed. Those three were willing to fight for Masato's life. They all had a strong sense of justice for the greater good.

"What's this? Did you all grow a pair in a second?" Monokuma asked vulgarly. "You teenagers really are rebellious! How many more of you do I have to stamp out until you get it through your thick skulls!? You don't decide the rules here, I do!" Monokuma shouted like a parent. "If you don't realize that then you'll all be good and dead!"

What could we do? Monokuma most likely had traps and punishments laid out for us already if we stepped out of line. I wanted to think that we might stand a chance... or that we might be able to save Masato and ourselves... but what could we do?

"Guys..." Masato mumbled. "Just let me die..." Everyone looked at him and shock and before anyone could deny or shoot down his proposal he quickly went on. "I don't think innocent people should defend a guilty man. I was foolish and allowed Monokuma to manipulate me..."

"But-" Kazuhiro tried to argue.

"Alright! It's Punishment Time!" Monokuma cackled. A small button rose in front of his chair and he spun a little mallet around and hit the button. On the monitors it flashed 'GAME OVER' as a small sprite of Masato was on screen. It read 'MASATO HAS BEEN FOUND GUILTY. IT'S TIME FOR PUNISHMENT.' A sprite of Monokuma walked by and dragged Masato off screen.

( **Number Cruncher** ) We all stared warily as Masato closed his eyes while the Monokuma chain clamped shut around his neck and yanked him away from all of us. Kazuhiro tried reaching out for Masato but he was out of reach as he was dragged away. The monitor turned back on and showed us Masato strapped to a desk and various metal machines behind him on a conveyor belt. On the desk was a long list of papers he was hurriedly writing, it must be his way out. It looked as though it was the conveyor belt used to kill Kirigiri but modded to hell and beyond. Each machine was a large mechanical arm with a small mallet attached. Then the conveyor started. The conveyor belt started as Masato was whacked in the face one at a time by each of the mallets as he tried to finish but barely able to concentrate as each one continually beat him to a bloody pulp. He had reached the end of the belt and what awaited him was the garbage disposal. He answered the last problem as the press was coming down. Just before it could harm a hair on his head it stopped thankfully but the conveyor was still moving. It moved off screen and I could only assume he fell through a hole. However, he didn't land with a splat or no sound at all. All we could hear was the sound of what something inside a turbine sounds like as it gets ripped to shreds and all we saw was bits of hit shirt and blood. We stared at the screen with horror once more. This is reality, isn't it? There's no way something too cruel could be a dream... there's just... no way... before I knew what was happening everything about my world turned to black and I hit the ground with a thud.

As my consciousness faded I could hear that laugh. That cheery but haunting laugh chuckle in the back of my mind. That chuckle grew louder and louder until it was a full blown cackle. Monokuma's laugh... it consumed the last of my cognitive thought until I couldn't focus on anything anymore...

* * *

 **Students Remaining: (26)  
Akiko S. - Ultimate ?  
Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster  
Akemi Hanako - X (Former Ultimate Actress)  
Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master  
Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant  
Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist  
Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist  
Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir  
Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium  
Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant  
Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma  
Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author  
Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist  
Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer  
Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector  
Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista  
Masato Osamu - X (Former Ultimate Mathematician)  
Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star  
Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef  
Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?  
Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer  
Shigeo Kyou -X (Former Ultimate Connosseiur)  
Ikazuchi Michi - X (Former Ultimate Electrician)  
Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker  
Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor  
Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler  
Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Commander/Class President (If you want a better title)  
Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student  
Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer  
Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist  
Yukio Yuudai -X (Former Ultimate Hero)**

* * *

"So now we're down to 26 players, then?" Said the mysterious person, chewing on popcorn. "How interesting." They check a separate monitor on the demolished building that was once a Future Foundation Headquarters. "Their game is already up too." The figure paused for a moment before finally stating aloud "They won't make it any time soon... which leaves me so many liberties of my players~!" They cooed. "Ah, I can finally be creative beyond murder! Ahh, I can't wait for all the cute and awesome ideas! They'll be in for a surprise soon enough~!" The figure chuckled malevolently. "Heh... Despair today. Despair tomorrow. That's what this is... upu... upupupu..." The figure finished his chuckle while licking the salty snack of their lips in a rather sultry manner.


	9. Spoils of Murder (A)

**Chapter 4** **: Spoils of Murder (A)**

I know last chapter was... lackluster. But here comes brighter days

* * *

Silence. No one could utter even a peep. All the tears and sobs we probably should've been crying didn't come out. Even if we wanted to cry, we couldn't. Our tears ran dry mere moments before the execution. After that not a word... Even Monokuma didn't say anything and just escorted us back to the bus. The whole ride back felt like a silent eternity. The dull, humming of the bus is what filled our ears as we just sat back and just blanked out.

Did I do the right thing? Was I wrong for believing Akemi was my friend? Would we be better off if we were wrong...? These questions plagued me over and over again. And each time I had no answer to them. That isn't the reality we live in; we just witnessed a murder and execution. Deep down I knew that no amount of thinking about the past could change the present. And... regardless of what her intents, Akemi was still my friend. I don't care if it was a rouse or a ploy, I'll still consider her as my friend. That goes for everyone else, even Akihiro and Ikazuchi. We were all classmates before so what's stopping us from being friends now... These thoughts collected in my mind, and they became more profound and loud. I swore to myself I'd find everyone a way out of this hell hole, no matter what...!

I was surprised at myself as the bus came to a halt. Had I really just gotten over everything that quickly? I didn't feel so fired up, but I felt... relief. By acknowledging everyone as someone worthy of trust; as a friend, I feel relieved. All that guilt fell off like a heavy weight. Monokuma turned to us as the door on the bus opened. "Since it's so late, it's only fair to have breakfast run later than normal for you heavy sleepers." He said nonchalantly.

"Don't be expecting thanks, bear." Akihiro scoffed.

"You really are a true businessman!" Monokuma declared with a chuckle. "Soulless and corporate to the bitter end!" Akihiro didn't say anything as he got off the bus first. Each and every one of us filed out afterward and was back at the bus stop. It was still nighttime and the stars and moon were clearly visible and that same quiet breeze brushed past us. But this time only fourteen of us came back. Even knowing that fact, and even still feeling sadness over losing a friend, this just made me realize how tense we all were before. There was this strange relief around everyone. We were all mourning, but thankful to be alive... I hated to admit it, but Akihiro was right. We all must've been grateful to have Ikazuchi than Akemi. These mixed feelings are still very hard to understand but, we were feeling them. But... now what?

Makoto took a deep breath and stood before all of us. "Alright everyone, I know our hearts are heavy and our minds are clouded with confusion... but, we should focus on getting rest."

"How can we...?" Miyako mumbled. "Even if we are well rested, then what?"

"I understand most of you are uncertain of what will happen, but please do not let their deaths be in vain." Makoto demanded calmly. "We're still alive, so in a sense, they're still alive. So long as we look forward, then I'm sure we can find a way out of this game!" We all remained silent, dumbfounded by how Makoto could say such things so easily and with a straight face.

"...I never took you for the type to give such rousing speeches..." Izanagi responded after our long collective pause. "But, if the Ultimate Leader believes we can, then who are we to argue with talent?"

"I'm not exactly someone who likes teamwork, but why not?" Juku crossed his arms and shrugged.

"I'm with you all 'til the end!" Atsushi exclaimed. He was happier than everyone else, which was strange. But I didn't think much of it at the time. With that we all made our way to the dorms, feeling a bit easier now. I didn't sleep comfortably but I managed to be rested nonetheless. And when morning rolled around no one seemed to be any worse for wear. As usual, Makoto started the morning meeting with any sort of new information she had. We all had nothing new to give so our meeting didn't last long until it dissolved into awkwardness. We all stood around silently, the events from yesterday must've still been fresh on our minds. Akemi, Ikazuchi...

...No, I can't think bad thoughts now. I wanted to break down but, I simply couldn't. Not when there's still everyone else still alive. Just then the announcements blared. " **I would like to commend all students on their work for passing the first class trial. As your headmaster I'm very proud of you.** " Monokuma's voice chimed. " **As a reward for your efforts, I've decided to open up a new area to you all. A sports area and computer lab respectively, along with the second floor to the Gymnasium in this first area. You may ride the shuttle to and from the area as you please. That is all.** "

Everyone paused for a moment, processing what he just said. Finally, Ryota broke the silence. "...Did he say... Sports Area?" He seemed to be a bit gleeful at the thought of being able to play sports.

"He also mentioned a computer lab..." Miyako said in a similar tone. "I know I shouldn't be happy, but..."

Akihiro just scoffed in response. "Nobody cares if you feel pity or not. Just do whatever you want." With that we walked off, showing signs of no longer wanting to be in the Dining Hall with us a moment longer.

"Alright!" Ryota shouted, with a bit more glee. "Shin, you're coming with me right?" Ryota grabbed Shin's hand and looked at him with a smile expectantly. Shin blushed and averted eye contact. He scratched the back of his head nervously and nodded in response.

"We should all go." Makoto stated. "I wonder how we could use this new facility to our advantage..." With that said she wandered off with Ryota and Shin. Miyako followed excitedly. The rest of us stood around, just unsure if we should follow.

"Um... what do we do?" Hotaru asked nonchalantly. "I can't say I'm quite fond of computers or sports..."

"Same." Izanagi said while crossing his arms. "Think I'll just go back to sleep or something..." They left too.

"I think I'll go with Makoto's group. After all, I'm curious what's on her mind." Rei stated. "Wanna come with me, Chou?"

"'Kay." The gamer said and the two wandered off.

"Hey Akiko, mind coming with me for a second?" Atsushi asked me.

"Huh? Why me?" I asked him.

"Don't worry about that for now. I just want to go to the second floor of the gym, to see what it's like y'know?" I did have to admit, his curiosity was now beginning to become contagious. I didn't see any harm in just going with him for a few moments.

"Alright, I guess. Don't see anything wrong with that." I said nonchalantly. Atsushi was still a bit of an oddball, but I don't think he's the kind of guy who'd play killer out of nowhere. It had just been a day since the last case so I doubt any sort of motive or energy to kill existed in any of us anyway.

"Mind if I tag along?" Juku asked us out of nowhere. "Jus' cuz I ain't got nothin' better to do. Besides, I don't like the idea a guy like you going with anyone somewhere alone."

"What? You're accusing me as a murderer?" Atsushi asked. "Well, you aren't exactly dressed as a saint yourself."

"The style's called 'Bancho' nimrod!" He stated angrily.

"Whatever. Don't see why you shouldn't..." The engineer brushed off the conversation entirely and wandered off. Juku and I naturally followed and made our way for the gym, leaving the few indecisive members in the dining hall. In a few moments we were in the gymnasium once more. "Alright, now how do we get to the second floor?"

I practically sweatdropped at his question. "Wha-? You seriously don't know?"

"Like we know where to go from here." Juku huffed, adjusting his aviators. "Maybe behind one of the other doors or somethin'...?"

"Brilliant!" Atsushi declared excitedly. He hurried to a door on the opposite side of the room and found a staircase. "Amazing! Are you a genius or something, Juku!?" His mood had shifted greatly from indifference to enthralled in a mere second.

"Me? Well, I uh... Don't mean to brag..." He said while scratching the underside of his nose confidently. He failed to notice that Atsushi and I had already climbed the stairs until we were gone. "H-hey wait!"

The second floor wasn't anything spectacular. It was just a corridor with several doors on the side. After a quick look into each one it was just sports balls inside each room, so nothing really noteworthy. All but one door that is. There was one door at the end of the hall with a strange mechanism attached to it. "What the heck is that?" I asked, pointing to the mechanism on the door.

Atsushi tried opening the door but with no luck. "Huh? It's locked..." He said, very disappointed with what he found.

"'Course it is." Juku said. "That right there is a mechanized deadbolt."

"How the hell do you know that?" I asked in shock.

"My brother used to deal with locks all the time." Juku told us. "We always said that mechanized deadbolts are tricky. You need a passcode or ID to get in, but even if you do manage to get in the deadbolt just records the time it was unlocked. Unless, you..." He seemed to stop himself from talking as he kept going.

"Unless you what?" I asked, intrigued by this brother of his.

"Ahh, forget I said anything..." Juku said while scratching the back of his head. "It wouldn't matter much without the passcode anyway..."

"This was... anticlimactic..." Atsushi sighed. "But, I guess the mastermind doesn't want us to find them this early."

"Wait, you wanted me to help you find...!?" I gasped.

"Yep. The mastermind's control room. I doubted it would be here, but I wanted to make sure." He replied. "Also, there's something else..."

"Something else? Like what?"

"How should I explain it..." The engineer pondered. He gave a 'hmm' before finally saying what was on his mind. "Remember back when we said we couldn't find traces of anything?"

"Yeah? What about it?" Juku asked.

"Well, believe it or not, I found something I thought I lost." Atsushi said.

"Wait, what!? Really!?" I gasped. He nodded and from his pants pocket he pulled out a small stick like device. "A... A thumb drive?"

"Yeah... This thumb drive is mine, to be exact." Atsushi said. "I can tell because my initials are carved into the back." He flipped the thumb drive over and revealed his thumb drive had some characters carved on it.

"Holy...!" Juku gaped. "A-are you sure you ain't pullin' are legs, right!?"

"Of course not!" Atsushi snapped back. "I found it lying on my desk when I woke up this morning. There was a note attached to it saying it was a 'reward' for clearing the trial."

"A reward?"

"I wish I knew what it meant, but I haven't checked the contents of it yet." He replied with concern. "But, I'm not sure if the stuff on the device had been manipulated in any way. Who knows how long the mastermind or whoever had their hands on this..."

"But... we literally just got here." Juku said. "I can get that in the two days maybe..."

"He's right. We just got here a few days ago." I said. He seemed displeased with our logic, but didn't call either of us out on it. Still, two days is a lot of time so who knows what went on with it. However, a thought occurred to me. "We have the computer lab, right?"

"Oh, right!" Atsushi said with surprise. "I must've missed that part..." He sounded disappointed in himself.

"Why? It was in the announcements?" I said.

"Forget it. Let's just get going to that computer lab." Atsushi said.

"Maybe Miyako can help since she's good with computer's right?" Juku asked. He did have a point since she was the Ultimate Hacker...

So we made our way to the bus stop. I was beginning to get flashbacks of what happened the night before... It was hard not to be reminded of the first class trial. This entire place just had the presence of death now. We all found a corpse, and we all witnessed an execution. I wanna stop bringing this up, but I couldn't help myself... Akemi, Ikazuchi... We stood there in silence until the bus came roughly 15 minutes later. We rode it to the second area and I stared out in awe.

The entire field was green with a thinner sidewalk than the first area. There was one building which must have been the computer lab, and another which didn't look like any of the other school buildings so far, except maybe the gymnasium. The rest of the areas were outdoor courts for basketball, tennis and bat mitten, baseball and several others. I couldn't see Shin or Ryota anywhere, so I assumed they must've been indoors. "So this is that new area?" Atsushi asked. "It's really pretty, don'tcha think?"

I looked at him with confusion. "Pretty?" I reiterated into a question.

"Yeah, pretty. But I guess you want to solve the mystery of the flash drive like I do." He said. "Alright, then let's get going." We then proceeded into the computer lab. Inside were rows upon rows of computers and computer towers. Inside were Miyako, Makoto, Rei, and Chou respectively. Miyako was typing away hurriedly at the computer, almost as though in her own world. Makoto was watching over her expectantly, Rei had been watching with curious eyes but seemed to have yet ask a single question, and Chou sat around the room bored. The gamer girl was the first to notice the three of us walk in and seemed to brighten up.

"Oh, hey guys!" She said excitedly.

"Uh, what the heck are they doing?" Juku asked.

"Hmm, well Makoto asked Miyako if she could find a way to communicate with someone outside the school. Er, anyone for that matter." Chou responded. "She wants to see if she can get a connection to help plan an escape."

"So, how's it going?" I asked.

"No idea. They've been like that the entire time..." Chou admitted.

"... Darn." Miyako muttered.

"Is something wrong?" Makoto asked the shorter girl.

She sighed and shook her head. "No matter what I try, I can't get a stable connection. Without some sort of connection to a network, communication is beyond what I can do. But, it's weird. It's like, there is something there, but then it's not... It's hard to explain simply..."

"Freaky..." Juku gaped.

"Sorry..." Miyako looked like she was going to cry again at her inability to communicate with anybody outside.

"You don't need to beat yourself up, Miyako." Makoto explained. "You did your best. But I assume Monokuma planned this out earlier to keep us from trying anything of the sort."

"She's right." I said. "You were definitely trying. And I'm sure you'll be able to break through!"

"Akiko?" Miyako asked. "Atsushi and Juku too. W-when did you come in?"

"Just now." Atsushi put mildly. "There's something I need you to see." Atsushi revealed his flash drive and explained to the others the circumstances behind it.

"That's incredibly... suspicious." Makoto stated bluntly. "Are you sure Monokuma or the mastermind left this for you to find?"

"Yes!" Atsushi insisted. "I swear that this wasn't in my room until this morning!"

"Peculiar..." Makoto said. "No doubt that whoever left this wanted us to find it."

"No shit." Juku replied with his usual snide tone. "It was a 'reward' so they had to made sure Atsushi got it."

"That's what I'm worried about. This all feels too easy somehow." Makoto elaborated. She did have a point. We found this flash drive with exceptional ease. I didn't want to be suspicious of Atsushi, but...

"Why Atsushi in particular?" I asked aloud.

Atsushi shrugged. "I dunno. But let's get crackin' on what it has!" He insisted, trying to push the topic from our minds. Regardless of our suspicions, we were all curious about what that USB had exactly, it was evident on our expressions, and how much tampering happened to it. So Miyako popped in the flash drive and it appeared on the screen a few moments later. Miyako tried selecting the icon, but an error message kept popping up.

"Oh boy..." The hacker sighed. "It seems like Monokuma is protecting the files with some kind of code."

"That's a problem, right?" Juku asked.

"Yeah, until I crack the code we won't be able to read any of the files on this USB..." Miyako said, sounding disappointed.

"Don't worry." I had said to her. "You're not the Ultimate Hacker for nothing. I'm sure you got this down."

She looked at me with surprise then nodded determinedly.

* * *

 _ **Students Remaining: (26)**_  
 _ **Akiko S. - Ultimate ?**_  
 _ **Hajime "Jay" Kazuki - Ultimate Luckster**_  
 _ **Akemi Hanako - X (Former Ultimate Actress)**_  
 _ **Ryota Takao - Ultimate Sports Master**_  
 _ **Akihiro Junichi - Ultimate Merchant**_  
 _ **Shinju Suzu - Ultimate Instrumentalist**_  
 _ **Destiny Kiro - Ultimate Vocalist**_  
 _ **Kazuhiro Hisao - Ultimate Heir**_  
 _ **Kohaku Mari - Ultimate Medium**_  
 _ **Tatsuya Raiden - Ultimate Combatant**_  
 _ **Chidori Yukimura - Ultimate Charisma**_  
 _ **Hiroaki Hisashi - Ultimate Fanfic Author**_  
 _ **Shin Yuzuki - Ultimate Artist**_  
 _ **Chou Ayano - Ultimate Gamer**_  
 _ **Amaya Chika - Ultimate Collector**_  
 _ **Emiko Kamiko - Ultimate Fashionista**_  
 _ **Masato Osamu - X (Former Ultimate Mathemitician)**_  
 _ **Yoichi Kunio - Ultimate Web Star**_  
 _ **Juku Kunio - Ultimate Chef**_  
 _ **Saburo Kunio - Ultimate ?**_  
 _ **Natsuko Ren - Ultimate Traditional Dancer**_  
 _ **Shigeo Kyou -X (Former Ultimate Connosseiur)**_  
 _ **Ikazuchi Michi - X (Former Ultimate Electrician)**_  
 _ **Miyako Usagi - Ultimate Hacker**_  
 _ **Yukino Toshiko - Ultimate Doctor**_  
 _ **Izanagi Katsu - Ultimate Gambler**_  
 _ **Makoto Takeo - Ultimate Leader**_  
 _ **Rei Naoko - Ultimate Student**_  
 _ **Atsushi Tamuki - Ultimate Engineer**_  
 _ **Hotaru Haruki - Ultimate Botanist**_  
 _ **Yukio Yuudai -X (Former Ultimate Hero)**_

* * *

No murders this chapter. Gotta show some brevity between the cases, otherwise it'll be a horribly paced mess. And there's not really much else I wanna add for now. I'm saving FTE for a later time so next chapter is gonna advance the plot a bit more.


End file.
